The Tale of Dust and Sand: A RWBY-Fallout: New Vegas Crossover
by DovahCourier
Summary: Team RWBY find themselves thrown into the Mojave Wasteland. This is going to be hilarious. Rated M for language and, well, everything New Vegas is rated M for.
1. Chapter 1- Prologue

**_AN:_** _Hello reader! My name is DovahCourier. In a nutshell, I'm just a nerd in high school who reads a lot of fanfiction, watches a likely unsafe amount of Anime, plays too many video games, and has been recently experimenting in writing. I was browsing the RWBY/Fallout crossovers a few days ago and noticed something strange; Most of the pieces involved a Fallout character (mostly the Courier or Lone Wanderer, sometimes not) being thrown into the world of Remnant, and there were almost none where team RWBY is thrown into the wasteland. As a nerd, gamer, and HS sophomore with WAY to much time on my hands, I have decided to do this myself. This story starts between volumes 2 and 3 of RWBY (a couple weeks before the tournament starts), so none of the game-changing things from volume 3's ending have happened (On a side note, OMFG THE END OF VOLUME 3 WAS EPIC! LET'S GIVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE TO ROOSTERTEETH FOR MAKING SUCH AN AMAZ… Yang, why aren't you clapping?) . This is my first attempt at writing a fanfiction, and writing casually in general, so any constructive criticism is EXTREMELY HELPFUL! I already have the first few chapters planned out (Arrival in the Mojave, early adaptation into the wasteland lifestyle, and integration into the game's plot) but, after this, I want you guys as readers to help aim what direction this ship will sail. I will try to develop the plot as it goes along based on reader input, so faction/quest choices, character interactions, and overall wasteland life will be what the readers want to see. Pairings, on the other hand, will either wait until later or be nonexistent, as the most romantic thing I have ever written was for a random assignment in Lit, and made my teacher cringe hard enough to pull a muscle. I will try to update weekly, but school may get in the way (college classes integrated into curriculum + normal HS classes = brain melting over homework every night) Well, that's enough of my freakishly long AN (The rest will be much shorter, unless Q/A gets in the way), Lets get started, shall we?_

 _I do not own RWBY or Fallout: New Vegas. If I did, I would immediately die of joy, squealing like Ruby at a weapons convention. RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth, and New Vegas belongs to Obsidian Entertainment (Or is it Bethesda? I'll just say both, reduce risk)_

 ** _The Tale of Dust and Sand_**

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter One: Prologue

It was a warm, early-springmorning in the city of Vale. The snow was starting to melt, plants were starting to bloom, and Huntsmen/Huntresses in training were beginning to return to Beacon Academy from winter break. Among these students was one Ruby Rose, the enthusiastic young leader of team RWBY.

While saddened by the idea of winter break ending, Ruby was also excited. She, with help of her sister, Yang, had convinced their other two teammates to meet up in one of the cities' parks to discuss their winter break's events, and plan a final team outing before classes started back up. She had just left her dorm at Beacon, having dropped off her and Yang's equipment and school supplies. She had changed from her normal skirt and corset into a more casual shirt and jeans, still wearing her cloak over the casual outfit.

As she was walking towards the park, Ruby felt her scroll vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out to see what it was. It was a message from Yang. All it contained was a selfie of Yang and Blake, one of their other teammates, both wearing aviator headphones, with what looked like Weiss (their remaining teammate) facing away from the camera, sitting in some kind of chair surrounded by what looked like flight controls. Ruby was contemplating what in the name of Dust was going on, when suddenly another text from Yang appeared: _'Weiss borrowed her family's Bullhead for the day. GET THE HELL OVER HERE NOW!111'_

Realizing what this meant, Ruby immediately pocketed her scroll, knelt down in a sprinter's position, and kicked her semblance of extreme speed into maximum. Within the span of a few seconds, Ruby had arrived in the park, doing what seemed to be a combination of jumping out of joy and excitement and hopping on one leg to try to eliminate the extreme leg cramp she had bought herself for skipping stretches before sprinting faster than the average car.

After regaining her breath (and the feeling in her legs), Ruby looked up to see two of her teammates; Yang sipping a cup of coffee, leaning against a medium-sized aircraft while Blake slept in a ball on the soft grass. Yang was wearing a fur lined, bomber-style version of her normal jacket with a yellow t-shirt and pair of black jeans underneath, along with a pair of tinted aviators. Blake was wearing what looked to be a white t-shirt and set of deep purple leggings, with a black and purple bow tied over her Faunus cat ears. Yang heard her sister arrive, and immediately scooped Ruby up into a hug that would leave Ruby sore fore the rest of the day.

"How's my little sis doing?" Yang asked.

"Can't… Breathe…" Was the only thing ruby could choke out in response.

"Whoops, sorry about that Rubes!" Yang apologized, releasing her sister from the death grip of a hug.

"It's good to see you too Yang. Anyway, what the heck is this? I thought Weiss' father never let anyone take the Bullhead out unless for business meetings."

"He doesn't. This is still a business flight. We are going to oversee the activation of Schnee Dust Companies' first ever fully automated Dust reactors a few miles north of the city. I invited you all along so we could at least have one outing as a team that doesn't involve blowing anything up before school starts up again." This time it was Weiss Schnee, heiress of Remnant's largest Dust manufacturer, and Ruby's combat partner/teammate at Beacon, whom spoke up. Weiss was wearing a slightly baggy flight suit, staying with her normal white/light grey color scheme with red highlights around the collar, and wrists, and her snowflake crest covering the back.

"Oh, ok. As long as your dad is ok with it…" Ruby said hesitantly.

"All we need to do now is wake up Blake." Weiss said, glaring sarcastically at their sleeping feline teammate.

"I have an idea on how to do that…" Yang stated, an evil smirk appearing on her face. Yang proceeded to take out her scroll, pull up an audio bit she had recorded of her and Ruby's dog, Zwei, barking at a delivery drone. She then placed her headphones on Blake's head, turned the volume up to maximum and jumped backwards as she hit the play button.

Apparently, Yang had not jumped back quickly enough, as within a second of the barking beginning, Blake had already woken up, panicked, and tackled the nearest living thing, which just so happened to be Yang.

A short scramble, a few punches, and a string of profanity strong enough to make a nun faint later, Blake and Yang had untangled themselves from each other. Yang was now on her back, laughing herself nearly to death while Blake stared at her, a mix of shock, fear, and irritation on her face. "WHAT THE DUST WAS THAT!" She exclaimed, throwing an icy glare at Ruby and Yang, who were now also laughing hysterically.

"Don't look at us! The blonde is the one with a deathwish!" Stuttered Weiss, realizing her best bet to avoid a moody Blake's fury would be to redirect it towards Yang. Blake gave Yang one look before leaping at her, halfheartedly punching her teammate more out of irritation than actual anger.

After the entire situation was sorted out, team RWBY boarded the stark white bullhead. Ruby glimpsed into the cockpit, and a sudden realization dawned upon her. "Weiss, where is the pilot?" she asked as she turned towards the teammate in question.

"You're looking right at her." Weiss responded, an obviously proud tone on her voice. The rest of the team looked at her with a combination of disbelief, confusion, and utter terror.

"Why do you not have a professional flying for us?" questioned Blake.

"Ha-ha, nice joke, Ice Queen. Now seriously, where is the pilot?" Yang said, her feelings of confidence and excitement dipping ever so slightly.

"Yay, go Weiss!" Ruby said shakily, despite her conscience screaming _BAD IDEA BAD IDEA BAD IDEA_ about the idea of her partner flying the large craft.

"Hey! I got the bird here in one piece all the way from Atlas, didn't I? What's a few dozen miles north compared to that!" Weiss said defensively. "And besides, if I loose control, father installed a backup pilot AI to get us to a safe landing spot."

"Well, at least there is a backup plan." Ruby said, her mind slowly calming itself back down. "I see no harm coming from this situation, and it will be nice to have at least one team outing before break ends. Let's go, team RWBY!" she exclaimed, confidence and joy showing at their fullest.

"Alright, but if we crash and die, I get to kill Weiss." Yang said sarcastically, an excited grin returning to her face.

"Do you have coffee onboard?" Blake asked as her adrenaline shock from waking up now dying out, releasing a near zombie-like trance of being halfway awake.

"Yes, along with a few tuna sandwiches for later." Weiss responded in a deadpan tone.

"Than I don't care if Yang and Ruby's dog is flying the damn thing, as long as I get some coffee. I'm in." Blake said, a slight tone of relief entering her voice.

Ruby then jumped into the Bullhead's passenger compartment. "Then it's settled. Let's go flying!"

The whole team boarded the bullhead; Weiss in the pilot's seat, the others in the passenger compartment. Weiss went through the pre-flight checklist, sarcastically told her teammates to put their chairs and tray tables into their upright positions, and slowly revved the engines up. Before long, the Bullhead was far above the ground, zooming through the sky towards its destination.

After about a half hour in flight, Weiss opened up a comm. channel to the rest of the team's headsets. _"We are beginning our decent. Be ready to get off quickly, we are already about ten minutes behind schedule."_ She said before cutting the team out of her channel and switching to the radio signal for the refinery's landing tower. " _This is Snowstorm one, inbound for inspection of operation overcharge, clearance to land is requested, over."_

A crackle came from Weiss' headset, and suddenly she heard a calm, female voice enter her ears. _"Snowstorm one, this is tower one, request granted. Welcome, Ms. Schnee."_

As the request was confirmed, the Bullhead broke free from the lowest cloud layer, bringing the refinery into view. The facility was massive, sticking out of the side of a large mountain. There were dozens of machines and buildings; all taking Dust from its highly volatile raw form and refining it into either powder or solid crystals. Towards the center of the facility was a large landing pad, lights already blinking to show where Weiss needed to put the Bulkhead down.

As she was lining up the aircraft with the landing pad's markings, a sudden radio signal came in from the woman operating the tower, this one sounding much more stressed out than before. _"Snowstorm one, this is tower one. There seems to be a problem with the prototype dust reactor. There is a massive amount of commotion going on from the central research building, and the scientists working on the reactor are not respo…"_

The worried tower operator's statement was suddenly cut of by a massive explosion from one of the larger buildings on the upper tiers of the facility. The research building had just detonated with the force of a large bomb. Weiss stared at the mangled building, horrified by the Flame Dust colored smoke emanating from the wreckage, when her radio crackled back into existence. This time, it was a male voice, panicked and rushed. _"Snowstorm One, this is Doctor Scott Roberts, lead researcher on the Overcharge project. The experimental reactor has overheated from the amount of raw fire dust being used to fuel it. The reactor has melted down, and will likely blow the entire face of the mountain apart. Get out of here now while I issue an evacuation order."_

 _"_ _We are huntresses in training. We can land and help lead the evacu…"_ Weiss began, but was immediately cut off by the same voice.

 _"_ _NO! The reactor will go off, which will set off the hundreds of thousands of tons of dust we have stored in the storage silos, let alone the unrefined material that fills hundreds of veins under the mountain. If you leave now, you may still be able to get clea…"_

The warning was cut off by another massive explosion, throwing Yang, Ruby, and Blake all over the passenger compartment. Weiss looked out the cockpit window to see what must have been one of the most terrifying sights of her life. The entire mountain was igniting. The Dust on the conveyors, in the silos, even underground, was being violently activated. The mix of the Fire, Water, Earth, and Electrical forms of the propellant detonating together led to a massive wave of pure energy traveling outwards from the center of the facility, consuming all in its path. Weiss negated switching her headset comm. to talk with her team, and merely screamed at the top of her lungs "STRAP IN AND HOLD ON!" into the compartment behind her. As she did this, she pulled back hard on the control stick, pulling the Bullhead into a rough flip about before maxing out the engines, hoping with all of her being that she could outrun the wave of nature's wrath that was quickly advancing behind her.

In the passenger compartment, the rest of the team was screaming unintelligibly. Yang and Blake were holding on to each other for dear life, while Ruby pulled herself towards the cockpit. She had realized they were going to die, there and then, and decided to try and do one last thing before that happened. Ruby pulled herself next to Weiss' seat, looking at her teammate. Weiss' blue-grey eyes met the warm silver ones of her team leader, both of whom were trying to hold back tears. As the wave of heat and pressure overwhelmed the Bullhead, Ruby pulled her teammate, her partner, her friend, into one final hug. Weiss reciprocated the hug, breaking into tears as she did so. She managed to put her mouth to Ruby's ear, and choked out a single word before being dragged by the G forces into unconsciousness.

"Thanks."

Ruby looked into the passenger compartment and saw that Blake and Yang had too fallen into unconsciousness, still holding onto each other for dear life. As she felt her grip on reality start to slip away, Ruby heard the most peculiar thing start sputtering out of Weiss' headset, which had been knocked off of Weiss' head during the panicked hug. One would expect, in the current situation, to hear a mayday signal, or word from help on the way, or even just pure static. Ruby heard none of these. In the haze of pure pressure forcing her to pass out, Ruby heard the last thing she would have expected to play out of the Bullhead's radio at that time.

It was music.

 ** _Yippee Yay… There'll be no wedding bells for today…_**

Ruby's world then faded away to black.

 ** _AN_** ** _:_** _Well, any thoughts? Did I do the characters right? Was anything missing, or screwed up? Was it ok for the first piece of fiction I've written in years? Any_ _constructive criticism_ _is greatly appreciated, so_ _ **don't feel afraid to leave a review or throw me a PM**_ _. I will do my best to post a new chapter every weekend, but schoolwork (_ _and Fallout 4 DLC_ _) could possibly get in the way of that. Thanks for using your time to read the first chapter of my first attempt at a Fanfic, and I'll see you guys n' gals again in chapter 2!_

 _-_ _DovahCourier_


	2. Chapter 2 - Goodsprings

**_AN:_** _Hello again, readers! I cannot thank you enough for all of the positive feedback on this story, and we haven't even set foot in the wasteland yet! All I can say is thanks, and I hope it stays enjoyable as it continues. I will answer PM/Review questions at the end of the chapter. Now, let's get on with chapter 2: Goodsprings! (PS- Sorry about any rough grammar/spelling, my computer still runs on the arcane myth that is Windows XP, and Office '07 doesn't pick up all errors.)_

 _I do not own RWBY or Fallout: New Vegas. If I did, this would be the actual New Vegas storyline. RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth, and New Vegas belongs to Obsidian Entertainment/Bethesda_

 ** _The Tale of Dust and Sand_**

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Two: Goodsprings

Ruby slowly began to regain conciseness. Immediately, she could feel a dull pain in her left shoulder. She tried to open her eyes, but the sudden brightness hitting her sore eyes felt like staring at the sun through a telescope, so she immediately closed them. Trying again slowly, Ruby managed to open her eyes and scan her location.

She was no longer in the cockpit of the Bullhead. She appeared to be in a bedroom, lying on a rough, lumpy mattress. The wallpaper was a dull green, flaking away, and the windows, while letting a soft orange light in, were dirty enough to block any clear view of the outside. There was what appeared to be a surgical table a few feet away from the bed, with a terrifying looking, multi-armed machine next to it. In the corner of the room farthest from her, there was what looked like a wood plated love-tester machine.

Ruby attempted to sit up, but only managed to fall back onto the bed, making the rusted bedsprings groan from age. The noise was loud enough to travel out of the room, as the next thing Ruby saw was Yang peeking into the room, a look of extreme relief on her face, along with a the telltale signs of recently dried tears. "Hey doc, she's awake!" She yelled back into the room she had entered from, following this up with running over to her now awake sister and throwing her arms around Ruby.

"Yang! Thank goodness you're o…UMPH!" Ruby began, failing to finish before Yang threw herself into a hug. While her head was stuck in a jungle of blonde hair, Ruby heard another voice, this one unknown to her.

"Alright missy, get off her. I already saved the little one from a Vertibird crash, the last thing I need is for her to be strangled the moment she wakes up!" The voice was rough and aged, yet caring and warm, obviously belonging to an older gentleman. After Yang pulled herself off of Ruby, Ruby was able to see the speaker. It was, as guessed, an older gentleman, with no hair on his head and a graying moustache. He wore a black shirt,a pair of jeanswith suspenders, and a red bandana around his neck. "Hello there, milady. My name is Doc Mitchell. How are you holding up? You've been out for a couple days."

Ruby looked at her sister and asked, in a soft, worried tone "What happened?"

Yang patted her sister on the shoulder and said in a firm tone "We'll go over that later. First, the doc needs to make sure you're alright."

"But…" Ruby started

"No buts sis. We need to make sure you aren't going to just collapse as soon as you try to stand up. We can talk later." Yang responded, her tone more protective than normal.

"Ugh, fine. Alright doc, what do you need to know?" Ruby said, her gaze turning from her sister to Doc Mitchell.

The doctor excused Yang from the room, than turned to the young girl. "First things first, I need to check on your brain, make sure nothing got rattled about to roughly. Open your eyes wide."

Ruby complied, opening her eyes wide. Doc produced a flashlight from his pocket and aimed it at her eyes, checking for any extreme pupil dilation. After making sure there was no brain damage, the doctor followed through with a basic medical exam; taking temperature, checking reflexes, examining injuries, showing Ruby a sight chart, the works. When the doctor got to Ruby's sore left shoulder, she asked why it seemed to feel hurt.

The doctor explained that the Vertibird, which Ruby assumed was a term he was using for the Bulkhead, had crashed nose first, and the force had sent the entire control panel into Ruby and Weiss. The doc said that, if Ruby had not been on top of Weiss, the driving mechanics would have likely killed Weiss where she sat. Because of her position, the would-be deadly control panel only broke Ruby's shoulder, which had already healed up at a surprising rate due to an injectable medicine that he referred to as a 'Stimpack'.

After making sure she was physically stable, Doc Mitchell helped Ruby stand up, and walked her into the room he and Yang had initially come from. It turned out to be a sort of living room, complete with a couch, a couple chairs, some bookshelves, and a fireplace. Yang was sitting in an easy chair, feet on a table, reading a comic titled "Grognak the Barbarian". Blake was passed out on the couch, rolled up into a catlike ball. Weiss was nowhere to me seen.

Yang looked up from her comic, and stood up to give Ruby another hug, kicking the couch to wake up Blake in the process. Blake sat up and threw Ruby a smile, showing obvious joy to her team leader being alright. Ruby walked over to the couch and sat down next to Blake.

Ruby immediately started asking questions at a million miles an hour. "Alright, what happened? Where are we? Where's Weiss? What happened after the crash? How long was I out for? Wh…UMPH" Ruby was cut off by Blake covering Ruby's mouth with her hand.

"Ok. First off, calm down and breathe, we don't want you passing out again." Blake said in a firm yet calming tone.

Doc Mitchell than sat down in the remaining chair and began talking. "Alright. To begin, know you are safe. You are in the town of Goodsprings, sitting in my house. That Vertibird you girls were in crashed about a quarter mile west of here, and is nothing but scrap at this point. Your friend is in my personal bedroom, collecting herself. One of the townsfolk, Sunny, saw the crash and immediately ran to see what the hell happened. Your sister and friend here escaped without any injury, and helped carry you and Weiss down the rocks to my house. She woke up about an hour after getting here, while you've been out for about a day."

Ruby loosened up, knowing they were alive and safe. "Which kingdom are we in? Did we het thrown clear of Vale?"

With this question, Blake and Yang tensed up, wincing like they just witnessed someone getting kicked between the legs. "Um, Rubes… about that…" Yang started hesitantly, but she was cut off by what sounded like a loud crash coming from down a hallway. Ruby, Doc Mitchell, Yang, and Blake immediately ran down the hallway to the room where the noise had come from.

Ruby knocked on the door. "Weiss… are you ok?" she asked hesitantly.

"GO AWAY!" Was what Ruby got in response, Weiss' voice cracking.

"I'm coming in, alright. I just want to see what's wrong, and how I can help." Ruby responded in a low, motherly tone. She waved the others back further down the hall, and proceeded to slowly open the door.

Ruby saw Weiss, curled into the fetal position in the corner of the room. A smashed vase, the apparent cause of the noise, was in the middle of the floor, apparently knocked off of a bedside table accidently. As the door opened wider, Weiss pulled her legs in tighter, slowly rocking herself in an attempt to stay calm. Slowly, Ruby walked over and knelt down next to Weiss, pulling her into a wordless hug. Weiss mumbled something inaudible.

"What was that?" Ruby asked in a soft and caring voice.

"I'm so sorry." Was all Weiss choked out before she began crying uncontrollably. Ruby was confused for a moment, than realized what it was that Weiss was apologizing for.

"The crash was not your fault. If you had not managed to turn the Bulkhead around and get a head start on the blast, we wouldn't have survived." Ruby said, attempting to consolidate Weiss. Weiss looked up at her teammate, a few tears still streaming down her cheek. Ruby reached down and used a finger to wipe the tears away. She was about to move in for another hug when there was a sudden crash and groan of pain from the doorway.

Ruby and Weiss turned to see Yang sprawled out on the floor, with Blake behind her, arm still outstretched from pushing the blonde brawler over. "Damn it Blake, it was just getting interesting too! Why'd ya give me away?"

Ruby started to blush, face becoming redder than her cloak, and Weiss stood up, and starred daggers at Yang. "Were you… watching us?! You are such an inconsiderate, disrespectful, childish dol…AGH!" Weiss began to scold yang, but was interrupted by Ruby tackle-hugging her from behind.

"YAY! Weiss is back to normal!" Ruby exclaimed, a childishly large grin appearing on her face. Yang started laughing hysterically, and Blake let out a slight chuckle. Weiss glared at the pair standing in the doorway, but eventually allowed herself to start laughing too.

It was now late in the evening. The team sat in the living room, Weiss, Blake, and Yang on the couch, while Ruby sat on the chair opposite them. Yang decided, it was time to break some… interesting news to her younger sister. "Alright sis, there is something you need to know about the crash."

"What is it? Were we thrown into another kingdom? Do we have a way home? Why haven't we called anybody from Beacon yet?" Ruby began, but Yang put a finger up to her own mouth, signaling Ruby to quiet down.

"We… ugh, how do I say this…" Yang started to panic. She had had to bring Ruby bad news before, but never anything as big as… well… _this_.

Blake decided this situation was like removing a bandage; Get it over with quickly, and avoid beating around the bush. "Ruby… We aren't on Remnant anymore."

Ruby looked confused. "What do you mean? That's impossible! This has to be some kind of joke!" Ruby began to laugh uncomfortably, but the looks on her team's faces worried her. They looked more serious than she had ever seen them before.

Weiss put a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Ruby, come with me please." She said, a slight undertone of worry breaking through her normal calmness. Ruby followed Weiss, who led her to the window. This one was clean enough to see out of.

"Weiss, how does showing me the night sky help this situation? I'm not exactly in the mood to look at the pieces of the mo…" Ruby began to speak, but was immediately awestruck by the sight outside of the window. Initially, she believed the landscape belonged to a village in Vaccuo, as it was a very rocky, desert landscape. There were a few small buildings and a couple of small fields of wheat. The thing that made Ruby freeze, that made her immediately realize her team was correct, and realize that they were, truly, away from home, was the moon. Back at beacon, she and Yang would pull the others out of their bunks and up to the roof of the freshman dorm to gaze up at Remnant's moon, shattered yet beautiful. This moon, the moon that dragged Ruby into a sate of shock, was not her moon. This moon… was whole.

Ruby fainted.

"Well, at least she took it better than Yang." Blake deadpanned, taking a sip of the "Nuka Cola" the doctor had given her.

"What was so bad about how I reacted?" Yang responded in a sarcastically angry tone.

"You flipped a table, broke a mug, and chugged half a bottle of whisky before we could get you to calm the hell down." Weiss responded, laughing slightly at the memory.

Yang checked on her sister. "Well, she's out cold. I say we hit the hay for the night. Any objections?"

"None from me. How about you Bla… Oh." Weiss responded, turning to see that Blake was already way ahead of them.

Weiss awoke the next morning to see Blake, Yang, Ruby, and Doc Mitchell talking in the kitchen. Ruby was drinking a bottle of that soda, Nuka Cola, Yang had some black coffee in her hand, and Blake had just made herself some tea from the Doc's garden. Weiss nodded good morning to her teammates, and looked at the doctor. "Thanks again for helping us. We probably would have died out here if you hadn't had helped."

"Don't mention it. It seems like everyday now that I help keep some unlucky soul from dying. Hell, just last week, the town's robot, Victor, pulled a woman out of the grave; two rounds in the head, and she was up and kicking about two days before you crashed. She even helped out around the town, and gave the boot to a gang of escaped prisoners." He responded, than continued. "If you ladies don't wanna stay around here, I can give you a bit of money and point you in the direction of Primm. It's a larger town, and should be a good place to start a new life here in the Mojave."

Blake decided to bring up a topic she had meant to the previous night. "You keep calling this place the Mojave. Where exactly are we?"

The doctor looked at the girls, his face growing slightly more serious. "Well, little ones. If you're going to be living in this land for a while, you might as well know the history of said world."

Doc Mitchell than began to tell a story. A story of greed, of conflicting power, of a time long gone, and a tale of war. A war on a scale that made even the bloodiest of conflicts back on remnant seem like an argument between two children. He told a tale of a war that had nearly wiped out the entire planet. The doctor explained the resource wars, the war between the powers known as 'America' and 'China', and the final straw that was the battle of Anchorage. He told the horrifying tale of how, within the span of only two HOURS, billions of lives were ended by bombs large enough to level entire cities. He explained the immediate fallout, and how radiation even plagued the wastes today. He explained the vault program, and the slow evolution of the wasteland outside of the vaults. He explained how there was little to no law outside of settlements, and how every day for many was a fight for survival. He concluded his story with a summary of the conflict currently gripping New Vegas, the power struggle between the diplomatic NCR, the barbaric Legion, and the reclusive Mr. House. ( _AN: Sorry for not going into detail on this story. We all know the backstory of fallout, and I don't want this chapter alone to be as long as the average novel)_

After the girls took a few moments to collect their thoughts, Ruby spoke up. "Than it looks like we are here to change the wasteland. With no immediate way of getting home, it is our duty as huntresses to help wherever there are those in need, and this world sure seems to have plenty in need. Thanks again for the help doc, and I hope our paths cross again in the future. Now, which direction did you say Primm is from here?"

The doctor seemed surprised at her straightforward plan. "Did you listen to anything I just said? You want to go out into the Wasteland, unarmed and unarmored? Are you crazy, stupid, or did I just miss a concussion when I was checking you? I refuse to send you ladies out without at least minimal protection. Here, follow me."

The doctor led the four teens into the living room, and pushed the couch to the side. Under the couch was a floor safe. Doc Mitchell opened the safe and produced what looked to be a few sets of armor and weapons. "This should provide a bit more realistic for wandering the Wasteland than some pre-war street clothes."

On the floor now lay two sets of what seemed to be leather armor, a bulkier set of scavenged metal armor, a 40mm grenade rifle, a bulky 10mm handgun, a 20 gauge double barrel shotgun, a long machete, a set of brass knuckles, a silenced 9mm pistol, some kind of energy based pistol, a few bags of medical supplies, a weapon repair kit, a set of throwing knives, a kit of three survival knives, and a box of each weapon's respective ammo. Ruby immediately freaked out, drooling over each piece of deadly equipment, obviously excited to be near weaponry again.

The doctor looked at the weapon-crazy girl, and than to Yang. "Is this… normal?" He asked, almost afraid of what the answer would be.

"You should see how she treats her sniper rifle back home." Was the only response he received from the blonde.

After managing to pull Ruby off of the pile of weapons, the team each took their pick of gear. Weiss took the energy pistol, which the doctor had identified as a plasma pistol, a survival knife, the medical supplies, and a set of light leather armor. Blake took the throwing knives, machete, silenced 9mm, and the remaining leather armor. Yang took the shotgun, a combat knife, the heavier metal armor, and (to Ruby's displeasure) the grenade rifle. Ruby was left with the 10mm handgun, the repair kit, and a knife of her own.

Ruby realized that there was one thing wrong with the current situation. She turned to Doc Mitchell, a slightly confused look on her face. "There's only three sets of armor." She said, looking at him with a questioning expression. Doc realized she was correct, and beaconed for her to follow him. He led her into one of the bedrooms, and pulled out a footlocker from under the bed.

"The equipment in here was given to me by a special friend about forty years ago. I will give it to you, young lady, because I believe you will put it to better use than it would be sitting here to age away under my bed." And with that, Doc Mitchell opened the footlocker.

Inside was a blue jumpsuit, a with a mix of leather, steel studs, and ceramic plates armoring the shoulders, legs, and chest, along with a large, faded yellow number '13' on the back. Underneath the jumpsuit was what looked to be a large, bolt action hunting rifle, equipped with a long range scope, and chambered in .308 ammo. Ruby was impressed. While not nearly as strong as her dear Crescent Rose back in Vale, this would do nicely.

"I love it." She said, immediately grabbing the jumpsuit and pulling it on over her clothes. It fit well, a little loose to allow movement, but snug enough to be warm and comfortable. She than pulled her cloak on over the vault suit, and removed the rifle from the box.

"What's her name?" She asked, inspecting the rifle and looking at him with a childish grin.

"Name? Why does a rifle need a name?" The doctor asked, confused at her question.

"A weapon is an extension of who we are. It protects us, keeps us safe. The least one can do is name their weapon, giving it a connection to them on a personal level." She answered, looking saddened by the Doctor not sharing her mentality.

"If that's what you think, lil' one, then you can go ahead and name it yourself. It only seems appropriate." He responded. This immediately lifted Ruby's spirit.

Ruby thought about it for a moment, and a name suddenly dawned upon her for the rifle. " _Summer Breeze._ Seems fitting, doesn't it?" She proceeded to give the doctor a short hug. "Thanks again… for everything."

"Don't mention it, lil' lady. I'm only doing my job as a doctor." He responded. The duo than walked back out to the living room.

Ruby walked into the living room, rifle over her shoulder. The rest of the team had already changed into their armor, and were inspecting and cleaning their weapons. The team looked up from their equipment to see Ruby standing in front of them, wearing the armored vault suit with her cloak over it. Yang whistled at the new equipment, Blake nodded in approval, and Weiss blushed slightly. The doctor than walked up to the group, carrying a medium sized wooden box.

"Alright girls, before I forget, There's one more gift I want you to have." He proceeded to lift the box's lid, revealing… a set of what had to be the bulkiest wristwatches Ruby had ever seen. They were each the size of one of the girl's forearms, and had a screen larger than that of a Scroll. They each had a set of three buttons on the bottom, labeled 'STATS', 'INVENTORY', and 'DATA' respectively. There was a small dial to the top left if the screen, and another dial on the back of the hand of a built-in glove.

"What are these?" Asked Weiss, confused slightly by the devices.

"This, Milady, is the Pip-Boy 3000. Mk I. It is the ultimate in personal computing technology. It can check how healthy you are, map out either small, detailed spaces, or an area the size of a state, light dark areas, play holotapes, and even store your equipment." The doctor responded, almost as if he was trying to sell the damn things

Weiss was less confused, but now had one question nagging at her mind. "How do they store equipment? They're just computers."

The doctor had an expression of confusion, than explained what he could. "From what I know, they manage to convert the object to digital data, which takes up memory in the Pip-Boy. The amount of available memory is directly linked to a mix of your health and physical strength. I've never fully understood it, but hey, never look a gift horse in the mouth."

The girls seemed pleased with the answer, and put the devices on. Weiss scanned the spare medical gear with her Pip-Boy, and it vanished in a green light. She hit the 'INVENTORY' button, went to the 'AID' tab, and hit the medical supplies. They proceeded to reappear exactly where they had been.

"Now before you get going, here is some money to get started on. I suggest buy some food and drink from the Saloon before you start to head south. Here ya go." The doctor than handed each girl a bag of… bottlecaps.

"Well, that's a first. I've seen coins, digital data, paper, even Dust used for trade, but never something quite as simple as a bottlecap." Blake said, taking one of the pieces of metal and spinning it between her thumb and index finger.

"I guess its time to go now. Thanks again Doc!" Said Ruby, who then began walking towards the door. The rest of the team said their thanks, and turned to follow their leader. As they approached the front door, it was suddenly thrown open. In stepped a teenage girl, no older than Yang. She was wearing a slightly heavier set of the armor Weiss and Blake currently had, and wielding a short hunting rifle chambered in a smaller round than Ruby's. She had a mess of light brown hair, pulled back into a rough ponytail.

"Doc, we got fire geckos. Dozens of the bastards, all headed this direction!" exclaimed the new arrival. She than turned and saw the four very confused looking teens standing in the Doctor's living room. "Hey there. Good to see you again, Blake n' Yang. Good to see the other two are alive. The name's Sunny, Sunny Smiles. I'd love to talk, but we have a bit of a problem down in the town. Is there any way you could lend a hand?"

Ruby nodded without hesitation, pulling her hunting rifle off of her back and raising the stock to her shoulder. "Just tell us what to shoot at."

Sunny had led the team out to the middle of town, near the general store and the town saloon. There were a few crates and sandbags lined up on the main road leasing in and out of town. Weiss, Yang, and Blake were lined up behind the makeshift barricade, while Ruby and Sunny had managed to get to the saloon's roof, acting as sniper support.

Ruby turned her head to face Sunny, and asked the question that had been nagging at the back of her mind since Sunny had barged into Doc's house. "What exactly is a fire gecko?"

Sunny stared at Ruby in disbelief. "You seriously don't know what a fire gecko is?" She was about to go into an explanation on what the little devils were, but was cut off when she saw a massive dust cloud inbound from the southeast. She looked at the base of the cloud and saw them. Dozens of the red skinned lizards, all charging at the town full speed. "If you don't know what a fire gecko is, you're about to find out the hard way."

Ruby followed Sunny's gaze and saw the geckos. A near-crazy grin formed on the young girl's mouth. This was going to be easier than shooting Grimm in a barrel. She lowered her rifle, leaning it on the ledge of the roof. She did a small stretch of her legs, and knelt down, drawing her knife. No need to waste a bit of ammo when she could dash through and slash the bastards' heads off. Ruby wound up, threw a cocky wink at Sunny, and dashed forward…

…immediately falling off the roof and landing flat on her face.

Ruby was in shock. Her semblance had never failed or faltered. She tried again, this time only managing to trip over herself again. With no time to waste on the problem, Ruby signaled for Sunny, whom was trying (and failing) to hold in a laugh, to throw _Summer Breeze_ down. Ruby caught the rifle, and took a kneeling position next to her teammates behind the barricade.

Ruby looked down the scope. 24 targets in total, and 10 rounds per clip. That was still a very easy victory, even without her speed. Ruby prepared to pull the trigger on the first target, but suddenly felt the world slow to about a quarter of normal speed. She assumed it was just a combination of adrenaline and her normal combat reflexes, when she suddenly heard a soft, electronic voice appear in her head.

 _Thank you for using the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System, or VATS. Please select targets to fire upon. WARNING, MASSIVE AMMOUNT OF AP DETECTED IN USER. OVERUSE OF SYSTEM MAY CAUSE OVERLOAD. PLEASE CALL THE NEAREST VAULT-TEC ENGINEER FOR ASSISTANCE._

 _That was… odd_ Ruby thought, then returned to aiming at the geckos. She noticed time had nearly frozen, and the Geckos were now highlighted. She swept the rifle across the line of incoming hostiles, and heard a slight click with each one she passed over. She continued to sweep, but the clicking was replaced with a deeper error tone after about two thirds of the geckos were selected. Interested to see what would happen, Ruby than pulled the trigger.

The others had no idea what happened. One moment, a wall of scales, teeth and flames had been bearing down on the town. The next moment, almost two thirds of the geckos' heads had exploded. They all turned their gaze to Ruby, who was laughing like a psychopathic child on their birthday, reloading her hunting rifle.

The remaining eight geckos were almost on top of them. Sunny, Weiss, and Blake managed to shoot six more, but the remaining two leapt at Yang. She managed to send a 20 gauge slug through one's brain, but the other bit down hard on her leg. Yang was not expecting the sudden pain and immediately screamed. She attempted to shake the gecko off, but it only bit harder. She heard her leg crack, and fell down more out of shock than actual pain.

Blake heard her partner scream and immediately jabbed the reptile through its back with her machete. The beast let go, giving Blake a window of time to decapitate the thing. She turned her attention to Yang, who was curled up in a ball, cradling her broken leg, more pale than a ghost. Blake removed a Stimpack from her Pip-Boy's inventory, sticking the needle into Yang's leg, just above the break. The medicine worked freakishly fast, mending the break within ten seconds of the initial injection.

Yang looked at her leg as if she was afraid it would fall off, and than looked at Blake.

"Why didn't my Aura block the bite?" She asked, only getting a confused look from her teammate.

"No idea, but I sure hope we can fix it." Blake responded, a sudden look of worry taking over her face. Weiss also looked confused, but suddenly had a realization.

"Radiation."

"What?" Blake and Yang asked in near unison.

"Radiation. It is oftentimes created when some types of dust from deep within Remnant are dug up and refined. Not deadly in small dosages, but it has a devastating affect on aura and semblance, nullifying or eliminating both completely, even in only the slightest dosage. If what Doc told us about this world's history is true, than we likely will be unable to use either our semblance, or our aura as long as we are here." Weiss responded, a sad look on her face forming as she realized what she had just said.

Ruby looked at Weiss, slight sadness showing in her expression. "So, we have no access to our aura reserves, or our semblances?"

"I'm sorry Ruby, but that's what it looks like. We'll just need to make due without." Weiss responded, feeling like she had just kicked a puppy in front of her younger teammate.

"Well, it could be worse." Ruby said, perking back up with her naturally extreme optimism. "Let's go buy some supplies and get walking. Doc said Primm was about a 4 hour trip from here."

Sunny walked up to the odd group of girls, whom were now making final preparations to leave at one of the tables inside of Doc's house, carrying a bag over her shoulder. She placed it on the table between the girls. "A gift from the town, for holding the geckos back." She said, opening the bag for the team.

Inside the bag were a few more boxes of ammo, a week worth of bighorner jerky and water, a few dozen bobby pins in a box labeled 'lockpicks', a jar of around 250 more caps, and a box of two dozen stimpacks.

Ruby immediately stood up and hugged Sunny. "No need to thank us. We were just doing our job."

The team divided the gift up evenly, and loaded it into their Pip-Boys. Doc walked into the room, and threw each girl a metal canteen full of water, with the number 13 printed on the side in yellow Vault-Tec font. He than wished the girls luck, and walked them to the door.

The team started walking down the road south, hoping to get to Primm before sundown. Ruby looked at her friends, proud to be in such great company. "Well, I have no idea where this adventure will lead us, but I have a feeling it will be one hell of a ride."

 ** _AN:_** _Well, that was a thing. Sorry if this chapter was a little long, I may have gotten a little carried away. Now, time to answer/respond to some reviews._

 ** _Lasse2731:_** _Amazing idea, but I already have the first few chapters of this project planned out. Sorry._

 ** _Cole Tyger:_** _Thanks for pointing that flaw out. I went back to chapter one and fixed the coffee/tea thing. And on the other note yes, I will make sure to have more than a few light hearted moments to cheer up the wasteland. I'm already planning a hilarious confrontation between Yang and Veronica over who gets to keep Two-Step Goodbye._

 ** _HavenOfUmbar:_** _Yay. I'm glad you love it so far!_

 ** _Shock Factor:_** _Thanks for the encouragement, glad you like it!_

 ** _Kien Kotei_** _: Thank you for the feedback!_

 _I'm releasing this chapter a few days early because I already had it done and want to have some time to get feedback before I start writing chapter 3. Once I have a more solid schedule, I will post every weekend that I can, unless school or other distractions_ _ ***COUGH*AUTOMATRON!*COUGH***_ _get in the way, and may post more often if I have spare time (ex. Spring break is the week of the 28_ _th_ _, so I can crank out a few chapters then.) Thanks again for reading, and I hope the story continues to please you all! Once more, any suggestions, and criticism are GREATLY APPRECIATED! See you guys n gals later…_

 _-_ _ **DovahCourier**_


	3. Chapter 3 - Primm

_**AN:**_ _Hello again readers! I have nothing really big to say, besides another extreme thank you to everyone following and reviewing this story. Sorry for the wait, we've been testing our bullocks off in school. The bright side is that spring break starts on the 28_ _th_ _, so I'll try to go into overdrive with chapters for a while. This chapter is primarily lighthearted banter, a bit of gambling, and a few puns so bad they would make Yang cringe. Sorry if it's too short, the next one is planned to be a long, combat filled one. I had a lot of fun writing this, so I hope you like it!_

 _I do not own RWBY or Fallout: New Vegas. RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth, and New Vegas belongs to Obsidian Entertainment/Bethesda_

 _ **The Tale of Dust and Sand**_

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Three: Primm

The sun was high in the sky, casting a scorching heat down upon the Mojave. Weiss hated it. Her hair was frizzing up, she was sweating, and the leather armor she had on did nothing but keep the heat in. She was about to express this displeasure to the rest of her team, when yang suddenly tossed a bottle of water backwards to her.

"How did you…" Weiss began, stupefied by the brawler's timing.

"You've been panting like a wild dog for the last fifteen minutes." Blake deadpanned as she approached from behind the white-haired teen.

"You could've told me!" Weiss exclaimed, suddenly feeling extremely self conscious.

"Yeah, but that would've ruined the bet." Blake explained, frowning as she tossed Ruby a small bag of caps.

"What bet?!" Weiss exclaimed, looking from Blake to Ruby in disbelief.

"Blake thought you would ask for water before your excessive panting got on Yang's nerves, and I thought Yang would cave in and throw you some before you lowered yourself to asking. Apparently, I was right." Ruby said, a sly smile forming on her lips as she counted the caps and scanned them into her Pip-Boy.

Weiss stared at the two gambling idiots, slack-jawed in awe. A look of fury started to form on her face, and Ruby realized it. In an attempt to avoid a sudden outburst of death and destruction, Ruby decided to quickly change the subject. "It seems quiet. Anyone have some music?"

Each of the teens reached for their Scroll, and each proceeded to realize their lack of said device.

"I sat on mine in the crash." Ruby said,facepalming.

"Blake broke mine when I woke her up before takeoff." Yang realized, giggling at the memory.

"Mine also broke in the crash." Weiss said halfheartedly, remembering plugging it into the Bullhead's control panel to charge.

"I loaned mine to Jaune after Nora threw his out a window to test his new 'indestructible' case." Blake said, drawing laughs from the rest of the team.

Ruby started thumbing through her Pip-Boy's tabs, remembering she had seen a radio option earlier. She found it. "Well, let's see what the local radio has to offer." She said, proceeding to activate the _'Radio New Vegas'_ option on the screen. Immediately, a deep voiced radio host's voice was heard coming out of Ruby's speakers.

 _"In other news, reports are coming in that a package courier found shot in the head outside of Goodsprings, is alive and well. Time for some 's a song about that love that comes along only once in a blue moon…"_

As the DJ stopped speaking, a slow jazz tune began playing. While Ruby, Blake, and Yang were immediately bored out of their skulls by the song, Weiss was immediately entranced. The strong clarinet and bass holding the rhythm together, the saxophone commanding the instrumental sections, and that voice! So deep, so seductive, so... _enchanting_. Weiss was under a spell, dancing with herself to the rhythm of the tune. As the glorious song ended, Weiss was dragged back to reality by another sound; one of Ruby, calling to her in a concerned tone.

"…Weiss. Weiss. WEISS!" Ruby yelled, wondering if the white haired girl had finally lost her mind from heat stroke.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't realize I drifted off there" Weiss told Ruby, suddenly embarrassed by how something as simple as music was able to distract her like that.

About an hour later, the team could see the town of Primm. From what they could see, the town seemed to be divided in half by a highway. On the smaller western half of the town was a few destroyed buildings and a cluster of tents. The camp was flying a flag that consisted of a two headed bear on a white background, a red star in the top left, and the words _NEW CALIFORNIA REPUBLIC_ written under the bear. On the larger eastern side of town, there was a casino, a few residential buildings, a post office with the words _Mojave Express_ written on the large sign, and a large hotel with a ruined roller coaster attached to it.

As the girls entered the town, they realized their best bet for a job would likely be with the _Mojave Express_. They walked into the office, and a large man greeted them in a deep, yet friendly voice. "Hello there. My name's Johnson Nash. Welcome to the _Mojave Express._ How may I be of service?"

The girls awkwardly shuffled among themselves before managing to shove Weiss to the front of the group. "Hello there. My name is Weiss Schnee. My associates and I were wondering if you would happen to have any job openings."

The man contemplated this for a moment, seeming to be sizing up the girls' potential, before reaching his hand out for a handshake. "Welcome to the _Mojave Express_."

Weiss took his hand and shook it firmly. "Glad to be aboard. But, if I may ask… why agree to hire us so suddenly?" She said, slightly confused at the man's willingness to hire the girls at a moment's notice.

"I'll be honest. We are short on couriers. We lost five of them on this recent job that was apparently rigged from the start. The last courier from that job seems to have hauled herself out of the grave to hunt down her would-be killer. The rest of our couriers are all busy back in the NCR, doing their best to avoid the war between the NCR and the Legion. We need more people working out here, and it seems I may have the perfect job for you four… Ah, here it is." Johnson reached below the counter, bringing out an envelope stamped with the NCR logo. "That contains your instructions and initial payment. I suggest you girls get a room over at the casino until morning. Radscorpions tend to roam the area at night."

The team thanked Johnson, left the office, and quickly darted across the street to the _Vicki and Vance_ _Casino._ Once inside, the team was greeted by a very… interesting scene. The front door led into a large central room, obviously a casino floor. There were at least two dozen slot machines lining the walls, a handful of card and roulette tables, a cashier desk, and a bar. The most prominent feature of the room was an ancient car, standing on a large pedestal, riddled with bullet holes, looking like it had been filled with half its weight in lead before stopping. Next to the car stood what looked to be… a robot cowboy?

Before they could investigate further, Weiss pulled the rest of the team to the cashier's desk. She approached the cashier, a tall woman with a rosy complexion and blonde hair pulled up into a tight bun. "Welcome to the _Vicki and Vance._ How may I be of service tonight?"

Before Weiss could respond, Yang shoved her out of the way and placed her bag of caps on the counter. "This in chips, please." She said, a massive grin forming on her face. The cashier smiled back, threw the blonde a seductive wink, and took the caps. She poured the bag onto a scale, weighing the caps, than reached for a small rack of chips with the casino's logo on them.

"There you go… 300 chips. Have fun!" The cashier said after handing Yang the chips. Yang divided the chips into four bundles of 75 and tossed one to each of her teammates before running off towards one of the poker tables.

Weiss, shocked and annoyed by Yang's behavior, provided to walk up to the cashier. "Two rooms for the night, please."

The cashier reached under the counter and produced a pair of keys. "That will be 20 caps." Weiss materialized the caps from her Pip-Boy, and took the keys, tossing one to Blake.

Ruby spoke up. "Alright. It's been a rough couple days, but we've made it. Let's have some fun before we get to work tomorrow. We'll meet up outside the rooms at eleven, and sleep until six. Now go, blow off some steam, and try to have some fun!"

After Ruby's adorable attempt at a speech, Blake turned and walked towards one of the slot machines, immediately entranced by the flashing lights and colors. Ruby headed towards the blackjack table, ready to try her luck at the game. Lastly, Weiss headed towards the bar, realizing all she really wanted was a drink. Weiss sat down at the bar, looking for any sign of a bartender. She was about to walk away, believing the bar was closed, when a computer terminal suddenly popped up in front of her from behind the bar.

Weiss looked at the ancient computer as it displayed a message on the screen. _Please place your order._ The very straightforward message was followed by a list of drinks. _Nuka Cola [10 caps]; Red Wine [15 caps]; Water [10 caps]; Whisky [20 caps]; Moonshine [13 caps]; Ice [Ha, that's funny];_ And finally _Atomic Cocktail [25 caps];_ Weiss decided the last drink on the list sounded interesting, and put the caps into a slot below the screen before selecting the option for the Atomic Cocktail. A set of robotic arms reached up from behind the bar and began combining ingredients that were apparently below the bar. The drink apparently was made from combining three shots of vodka, a bottle of red glowing soda, and what looked like half a box of mints all put together in a drink mixer shaped like a cartoon rocket. While every instinct in the back of her head screamed at Weiss to put the drink down, she decided nothing bad could come from just one drink. "Bottoms up…" she muttered to nobody in particular, then chugged the entire drink in one go.

Yang had just won her last spin of roulette, breaking at near even with 85 caps. She began to walk over to one of the slot machines in the corner when she herd the most peculiar of noises; The distinctive sound of Weiss yelling at someone angrily. Yang quickly put her chips into her Pip-Boy and went to investigate why her teammate was yelling. The answer was… unexpected, to say the least.

Weiss was sitting at the bar, surrounded by about half a dozen novelty spaceship drink shakers, screaming at a computer screen sitting behind the bar. "WHAT'D YA MEAN I CANT *hic* HAVE ANOTHER DRINK! I AM PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF DECIDING HOW MUCH OF THIS STUPIDLY AMAZING BEVERAGE I CAN HANDLE!" Weiss then leaned closer, apparently having trouble reading the screen. She managed to make out the small words, and only got angrier. "WHAT DOYOU MEEN YOU'RE OUT OF INGREDIANTS! WHAT KIND OF BAR ONLY HAS ENOUGH INGREDIANTS FOR *hic* SEVEN COCKTAILS! WHY I OUGHTTA…" Weiss proceeded to start punching at the screen, but all she did was manage to chip a nail.

Yang decided it was time to intervene before the ice queen managed to get herself kicked out of town. Yang grabbed Weiss and threw her over her shoulder. "Alright snowflake, time to cool off." Yang said sarcastically, giggling at her own horrible pun. She saw Blake, still sitting at one of the slot machines, just staring at the flashing lights and colors. Yang smirked and shook her head slightly, laughing at her partner's feline traits. Yang walked up behind Blake and, with her free hand, tapped the raven haired girl on the shoulder. Blake spun around, suddenly pulled out of her trance. Yang merely shrugged the shoulder she was holding Weiss on, and Blake got the point. Blake started to walk towards the cashier desk, going to trade in her chips before passing out for the night.

On the way to the desk, Blake saw Ruby finishing up at one of the poker tables and signaled her over. "Weiss got drunk. Time to bunker down for the night."

Ruby giggled slightly at the reason they were wrapping up for the night. "Alright, time to go. How many chips do you have?"

Blake reached into her pocket. "About a hundred. Not much of a payoff, but it's something. How about you?"

At this point, they had reached the counter. Ruby aimed her Pip-Boy at the counter and hit a button. On the counter, ten or so foot and a half tall stacks of chips appeared. "Somewhere around the 2500 mark." Ruby said, a sly grin forming on her face as Blake's jaw hit the floor.

"But… wha… how did you… What!?" Blake was in absolute shock. How did Ruby Rose, the young, innocent leader of team RWBY, manage to walk away from a casino with a payout larger than the rest of the team combined?

Ruby just threw Blake another cocky grin before taking her winnings in caps, loading them into her Pip-Boy, and walked towards the stairs to the rooms, a childish skip in her step.

The next morning, Weiss woke up feeling like Ruby had shot her through the brain with Crescent Rose. The world was spinning, along with her stomach. Weiss was about to run to the bathroom when Ruby grabbed her from behind.

"GOOD MORNING!" The energetic girl said, hauling her white haired teammate onto the floor.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!" Weiss screamed, annoyed at the sudden wake up call.

"Here, drink this. It should help with the headache." Ruby said as she handed Weiss a bottle labeled _Sunset Sarsaparilla_.

Desperate to get rid of the hangover, Weiss took the bottle and chugged the entire thing. She immediately felt much better, the feeling of a .50cal to the head reducing to a dull thudding. Hell, she felt better than she had since their arrival in this odd land. She looked at Ruby in amazement. "What the hell was in that?"

Ruby thought to herself for a moment before responding. "Blake threw it together. She didn't name it, but it's a mix of medical antiseptic, a blood pack, some Rad-Away, some clean water, some Nuka, and a couple Stimpacks." _[AN: Can anyone guess what drink it is? Here's a hint: it's not from New Vegas, but it is still from the Fallout series (and the Nuka is not in the actual recipe.)]_

"Well whatever the hell it is, it sure helped." Weiss sat up on the edge of the bed. "What time is it?"

"It's six A.M. Blake and Yang are out buying some supplies, and we need to go meet them at the edge of town." Ruby responded, tossing Weiss her Pip-Boy. Weiss put the device on, ready to start the long day of traveling ahead of them.

The team met up on the southern edge of Primm. Ruby looked at the letter containing their orders one more time.

 _To whatever courier this concerns,_

 _If you are reading this, you have taken up a courier job for the NCR. Your assignment is to pick up a holotape from the Mojave outpost south of Primm, and deliver it to Colonel James Hsu at camp McCarran in Vegas. You have been paid 100 caps (in NCR cash) in advance, and will receive an additional 400 caps on completion._

 _Good Luck,_

 _Lieutenant Hayes, NCR._

Ruby looked at her teammates, nodding at the group. "This road may be unfamiliar to us, but as long as we're together, we can manage anything this wasteland throws at us." Ruby than turned to the south, beaconed for her team to start following her, and started walking, ready to take on the wasteland with a skip in her step, a rifle on her back, and her friends at her side.

 _AN: Sorry again for a short chapter. I plan on making up for it with a long one next time. Get ready for the arrival of a certain revenge-driven delivery woman, an alcoholic cowgirl, a pissed off veteran sniper, and what must be the greatest robot in the entire wasteland (Until Automatron launches in THREE DAYS and I hopefully get to put an assaultron face-laser on an eyebot!)_

 _Time for a few comment responses!_

 _A helpful guest:_ _Good Idea, but as you can see, I already have the first few chapters all set and planned._

 _Grenadier 648244:_ _Glad you like the story so far!_

 _Cole Tyger:_ _We did PM about this, but I think I'll clear the air for any other readers. I have mostly played NV on my 360, and have a little mod experience from my friend's PC. Any changes from the original game are either ideas gathered from no mod in particular, are done with the intention of making the story feel more book-like, or are done to make it a little more interesting. For example, I plan on having power armor work like it does in FO4, but require the training needed in 3 or NV. Many weapons that aren't in the actual game are little things I have come up with myself. The team left their normal Remnant weapons back at Beacon, because they were only expecting a basic business outing, not to be thrown into the aftermath of WWIII. This is also meant to balance out the story because the team can't use their semblances, and will have no dust to work with for reloading their weapons. The idea of scavenging any dust from the crash may be used later if I can think of a way to use it for something special. Thanks again for reading!_

 _HavenOfUmbar:_ _Yeah, I noticed almost many of the stories that cross RWBY and Fallout use a male Lone Wanderer and Courier. I'm mixing that up a little bit._

 _Well readers, thanks again for liking this stupid little story! Any constructive feedback is welcome, and I hope you all continue to read as the story progresses. Have an amazing day!_

 _Thanks,_

 _DovahCourier_


	4. Chapter 4 - Courier

_AN_ _: Hello again, readers! DovahCourier here. Sorry if this chapter took a little longer than normal to post, I just have been 1: testing my absolute balls off at school, 2: My school's FRC robotics team had a competition from Thursday to Saturday and, ironically, 3: AUTOMATRON Now that the week is over, spring break has started. That means I can finally get off my ass and write as much of this story as I can. Now that I'm done ranting, time to get to the chapter. Buckle up, it's a long one! Thanks for sticking with this story, and I hope you like this chapter!_

 _I do not own RWBY or Fallout: New Vegas. RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth, and New Vegas belongs to Obsidian Entertainment/Bethesda_

 **The Tale of Dust and Sand**

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Four: Courier

The team had been walking south from Primm for about an hour. In the distance, Yang could see what looked like some kind of statue on a hill in the distance. To the team's left was a dried up lake, the dry desert wind kinking up enough dust to eliminate all visibility where the body of water once sat. On their right was an abandoned gas station. The team decided to stop for a moment, using the ruined building for shade while they ate a quick breakfast of gecko steak and some packaged snacks older than the entire team combined.

"How far is it to the outpost from here?" Ruby asked, a slight tone of impatience showing in the question.

"Not that far, just about a mile." Blake responded, checking her Pip-Boy's map to confirm it. The team was about to get under way again, when Blake's ears suddenly perked up. "I hear something." She began, quickly drawing her machete and pistol. The rest of the team did the same, preparing for whatever she heard coming to make its presence known.

The team stood there, backs to the wall of the abandoned gas station, for well over a minute. Weiss decided to speak up. "Are you sure you aren't hearing thin….AHHHH!" Weiss began, but was interrupted when the ground below her exploded outwards in a shower of concrete and soil, throwing her a good twenty feet away from the rest of the team. The others quickly turned to look at the source of the noise, only to be greeted by what had to be the second largest scorpion any of them had ever seen.

While still not quite as big as the Death Stalkers back in the Emerald Forest, it was still massive; at least twelve feet long with its tail, with legs at least as long as Ruby's rifle and a stinger the size of Blake's machete. It was covered in thick plates of a stark white chitin, almost six inches thick in some places. Its pincers were large enough to rip of any of the girl's heads clean off without any effort. The thing had eight blood red eyes, all locked on the group of girls in front of it.

"Well fuck. Anyone got a plan?" Yang asked, drawing her shotgun.

Ruby thought for a moment, eyes never leaving those of the thing in front of her, before coming up with a very rough plan. "Blake, go make sure Weiss is ok. Yang, can you distract this bastard?"

"Ha. Childs play." Yang responded, immediately firing a pair of slugs harmlessly into the beast's hide. "Hey dumbass, over here! Free lunch, if you can grab it!" She began to jog backwards, waving her arms wildly, luring the thing away from the rest of the team. Blake merely nodded at Ruby before running over to Weiss with a doctor's bag in hand.

Ruby ran behind the beast, prepared to do something both brilliant and stupid. Against all instincts of survival and common sense, Ruby leapt onto the scorpion's back. She quickly jammed her rifle between the armor plates on its back, and started to fire as quickly as she could. The beast immediately started to twitch and flail, attempting to get the apparently suicidal prey off of its back, but to no avail. The scorpion's jerking and flailing slowly came to a stop, and the beast slumped over, dead.

"Well… That was a thing." Yang said, putting her hand up for Ruby to high five. Ruby ignored it, sprinting as quickly as she could over to where Weiss lay.

"WEISS!" Ruby screamed, panicking. As she arrived, she realized the landing didn't do as much damage as she had initially believed. Weiss had passed out, but her only obvious wounds were a twisted ankle and broken collarbone, both of which were mending at a stupidly fast rate due to Blake using one of the heavy stimpacks from the doctor's bag.

"She should be ok. I'm pretty sure she only fainted from fear, not the damage." Blake reassured Ruby, making sure the younger teen would not immediately panic.

Yang arrived and threw Weiss over her shoulder. "How many times do I need to carry this one? Next time she faints or gets drunk, it's Blake's turn to carry her." She said, slightly irritated by having to play pack mule for the team. She then turned to Ruby and proceeded to punch her in the arm.

"OW! What was that for?!" Ruby exclaimed, looking at her brute of a sister.

"That's for leaving me hanging!" Yang said in a sarcastically angry voice, sly smirk forming on her face. Ruby was about to retaliate with a kick between Yang's legs, but was interrupted by Blake shouting at the sisters.

"Guys, we need to run. NOW!" The raven haired teen said in a tone that depicted true panic. Ruby and Yang looked towards Blake, confused as to why she suddenly seemed so worried. What they saw send a feeling of terror into the girls.

Scorpions. There were about a dozen of them. None of them were nearly as large as the one the team had just killed, but they still were almost five feet long from stinger to head. These ones had similar armor plating to the larger one, only it was a deep blue, almost black.

"Well, time to start running!" Yang said, turning on a dime and sprinting ahead of the group, Weiss bouncing along on her shoulder. Blake and Ruby followed, running backwards so they could fire at their pursuers. Blake grabbed the grenade launcher off of Yang's back, and took a grenade from her belt. The grenade looked like any other one, only it had a clear tip, which Blake could see was filled with a glowing green liquid. She loaded the interesting round into the launcher and fired.

The grenade impacted in the middle of a group of five of the scorpions. The air was filled with the smell of ozone as the grenade exploded in a ball of bright green light, engulfing the scorpions in plasma.

The girls were now only a hundred yards from the outpost, sprinting uphill through dozens of ruined cars from before the war. Ahead of them was a massive statue made of scrap metal depicting what looked like a cowboy shaking hands with somebody wearing a gas mask and riot armor. They were nearly below the statue, when a scorpion popped up from under the ground. This one was the same color as those behind the girls, but was almost as large as the albino one they had fought earlier.

The team panicked, realizing they would die either by a swarm of small scorpions, or a single massive one. They drew their weapons, prepared for the worst, when a sudden **CRACK** filled the air. The team looked up and saw the scorpion's face was gone, replaced by a hole the size of Ruby's head.

"Hey! Get in here before the rest show up!" The team looked up to see a man and a woman, standing on top of one of the buildings behind the statue. The woman was wielding a massive sniper rifle, and the man was holding a large scoped revolver. Without question, the girls ran around the now dead scorpion and through the chain link gate to the outpost.

The team's two saviors walked down a ramp from the roof, and approached the group of teens. The silver haired female holding the ungodly large rifle spoke up. "We saw you down by the gas station. Good job. It takes normally a whole squad of troops and a ranger to take down an albino radscorpion. Welcome to the Mojave Outpost. I'm Ranger Ghost, this is Ranger Jackson." The man nodded in acknowledgement as Ghost continued. "We are the NCR Rangers in charge of the station. If I may ask, what exactly are you girls doing out here?"

Ruby stepped to the front of the group and spoke up. "We're couriers with the Mojave Express, here to pick up a package and deliver it to Camp McCarran. Here is the work order." Ruby said with a friendly smile, materializing the work order from her Pip-Boy and handing it to the rangers.

Ghost took it and looked it over. "Well, Jackson, it looks like she's tellin' the truth."

Ranger Jackson took the piece of paper and nodded. "Well, thanks for taking the job. There have been very few couriers willing to work out here with the war between us and Caesar's lapdogs. The only other courier I've seen out here in a while passed through about two days ago. She came in with a pet Eyebot, helped out with a few odd jobs, and then left with some caravan boss after splitting half the outpost's whisky with her." The ranger seemed amused by this memory, but quickly regained his focus. "You'll want to talk to Major Knight over in the depot. After grabbing the package, you're welcome to rest up and trade a little bit in the barracks."

Ruby extended her hand to the Ranger. "Thank you, sir. We will pick up what we need, trade for some supplies, and be on our way." The Ranger and the teen shook hands, and the team headed to pick up their package.

After concluding business at the outpost (and waking up Weiss), team RWBY headed down the hill once more. They had sold a few unneeded supplies, restocked on ammo and water, and headed out. The team sat down on the hood of an old car, checking a large print map Ruby had bought for the team to share. It seemed the safest route was to head east through a town called Nipton, and then north along a highway until they reached Vegas. The trip would take about a day and a half, but would have a few rest stops and most of the time would be spent along the highway.

As the team began to head east, a pair of soldiers in NCR combat gear approached the team. "Halt. Nobody's allowed to head through Nipton until the NCR has confirmed the Legion scum have been wiped out from the town. Please turn back."

Yang approached the soldiers, noticing one's scarf was partially covering a tattoo of what seemed to be a bull. "Alright, we don't want any major trouble. Would you happen to know an alternate route to Vegas? We have a delivery for the commander in charge of Camp McCarran."

The soldier produced a small map from his pocket, and showed it to Yang. "Our superiors have told us to redirect any traffic north through Quarry Junction, around the town of Sloan. The town is under raider control, so just head straight through the quarry. There are a few large creatures in the area, but they are very docile."

Yang thanked the soldier, and the team started the long hike north towards Vegas.

The day passed without much more action. The team had had to fight off a few small groups of geckos, oversized flies, and a few coyotes, but nothing nearly as large as the scorpion incident that morning. The team had just made it to the outskirts of Sloan as the sun was hitting the mountains in the west, and quickly climbed the ridge to the left of the highway to avoid the town. They continued along north until they reached the edge of the quarry.

"It looks like a long climb down. We may need to head a little farther west and find a safe way down." Said Weiss as a strong sense of vertigo hit her from looking off the edge of the cliff into the quarry.

Yang pointed to a smaller section of the quarry, with what seemed to be a natural slope into the manmade hole. The team proceeded to walk over to the set of ledges and climbed down, hoping to not fall on the way. Once all the way down, the team walked around a small pond, headed towards what seemed to be the exit. They were almost out of the small section of the quarry when a small, chirp-like noise caught Ruby's attention.

Ruby turned her head to see… well, she had no idea how to describe what she saw. It was a small creature, only about two thirds of her height, standing on its hind legs. The creature had a leathery, tan colored hide, along with a slightly elongated head, with small beady eyes and a pair of small lumps on the sides of its head. The creature let out another cry, almost a chirp. Ruby walked slowly towards the creature, thinking this must be one of the things the NCR trooper mentioned.

Ruby leaned down next to the thing, slowly putting her hand out in a sign of compassion. The thing licked it, than looked up at her. "Guys, come look at this!" Ruby exclaimed, excited at the thought of a new friend. The team started to walk towards Ruby, but suddenly stopped in their tracks, frozen out of fear. Confused, Ruby looked at her team. "Guys? What's wrong? This lil' guy won't hurt you; he's friendly!"

Yang looked at Ruby, an expression of horror that Ruby hadn't seen on her sister in years forming on Yang's face. "Ruby, I need you to come over here, slowly. Don't make _any. Sudden. Movements._ "

Ruby was confused by her teammate's fear, and was about to question it when she heard it. Breathing. Massive breaths, filled with a near primal rage. Ruby turned her head to see what was causing the breathing, and a realization of horror struck her as she did. The reason this creature was so small, so cute, was because it was a child. She realized, with great horror, that the thing behind her must be this cub's… mother. The massive figure finally came into the girl's view.

Behind Ruby was what she thought must be a beast straight from hell itself. It was massive, built like a Beowulf Alpha, but larger. The creature stood at least twelve feet tall, with arms reaching at least Ruby's height in length. The hide was dark, a deep greenish-blue, even rougher than that of the cub. Each finger on its massive hands ended in a claw the size of Ruby's forearm. The thing had a tail longer than Yang was tall, and it ended in a set of large spikes. The creature's head elongated much like the cub's, only there was a pair of horns reaching at least two feet long that swept backwards. The thing opened its maw, showing a row of massive, razor sharp teeth, and bellowed a roar that would haunt the young girl's nightmares for years to come.

Ruby ran towards her team, screaming, and they proceeded to sprint towards the canyon exit. They were almost out when a sudden shadow blocked the exit. There was another one of the beasts. This one was about two feet taller than the one behind them, and was even more terrifying. The thing's horns were even longer than the mother's, and faced forwards. The claws were twice as long, and twice as sharp. The hide was pure black, almost blending with the night sky. The thing's eyes were blood red orbs, locked on the group of girls cowering in front of it.

The team huddled together, realizing their fate was sealed. Ruby was ready to die, realizing any attempt to fight would only make it a more painful death. She closed her eyes, thinking of her friends, her family, and her time at beacon. She braced herself for the feeling of claws and teeth tearing her apart, and the sound of the beasts' roars and her teammates' screams.

But the roars and screams never came. Instead, Ruby heard the least expected combination of sounds possible. She heard the crack of a sniper rifle in the distance, what sounded like a woman yelling at the top of her lungs, and… Was that a cavalry horn?

The team looked up, confused by the things they were hearing. What they saw only strengthened this confusion. Behind the massive beast, which had turned its back to the team, was the oddest group of people Ruby had ever seen. There was a woman, wearing a cowboy hat and flannel jacket, shotgun in one hand, and a bottle of whisky on the other. There was a man, lying on a ridge a few dozen yards behind the others, cracking off shots at the beast behind the group with a rifle similar to Ruby's. There was what appeared to be a flying, roughly spherical robot, about a foot and a half in diamiter, spouting the cavalry music and blasting away at the beast behind them with a built-in laser. In front of all of these was a woman with jet black hair, streaks of neon purple highlighting it. She was wearing a long camo duster, and had a repeater slung over her shoulder, a revolver in one hand, a large throwing hatchet attached to a lit safety flare in the other. The thing that stuck out on the woman to Ruby, though, was her face. It showed an expression of joy and happiness on the purest, most unfiltered level, only interrupted by two small, circular scars on the woman's right temple, and just above and to the right of her left eye.

The woman threw the flaming hatchet in her hand, and Ruby watched as it imbedded itself in the left eye of the beast in front of them. The beast roared in pain, and immediately began to claw at its own face, trying to get the flaming blade out of its face. The woman took advantage of the distraction she had caused. "HEY, OVER HERE! Unless you want to become deathclaw chow, I suggest coming with us!"

Without hesitation, the team sprinted towards the mysterious woman, taking whatever she had in store over being mauled to death. As the team reached the woman, she yelled to the rest of her companions. "ED-E! CASS! BOONE! WE'RE FALLING BACK!"

The others immediately proceeded to pull back, firing at the beasts as they went. A few more deathclaws had now appeared, these ones smaller than the mother, but still large enough to kill a human without much effort. Ruby and Yang drew their weapons, assisting their saviors by firing towards the incoming mob of beasts.

Ruby slipped into VATS, taking aim at the flare sticking out of the deathclaw's face. The shot left her rifle and impacted the flare, showering the massive beast in sparks. The deathclaw panicked, trying to claw the flare out of the flaming mess that was the remains of its left eye. The beast began to flail, and struck the two smaller deathclaws closest to it, inciting them to attack it. The alpha turned its attention from the flare to the smaller creatures, suddenly forced to defend itself from the smaller beasts. The last thing Ruby saw before the scene left her sight was the alpha, lifting one of the smaller deathclaws by a horn and gutting it from belly to throat with a massive, razor sharp claw.

The team's saviors led the team south to Sloan. The team hesitated, remembering the soldiers' warning, but all fear dissolved when they saw what seemed to be a man in mining gear coming out of one of the shacks. The woman in the duster, apparently the leader of the group of saviors, walked up to the miner. "I told you I could save 'em."

The miner looked at the woman in shock before shaking his head, a slight smirk forming on his lips. "Well I'll be damned. Any luck driving the bastards out?"

The woman nodded. "We tore the alpha up pretty bad, and the others should leave when it does."

"Thanks for the help. Well, go ahead and camp here for the night, and here's your pay." The man tossed the woman a bag of caps.

"Thanks. Have a good night, sir."

The girls sat down at the mining camp's central bonfire with the group that had saved them. The woman in the flannel leaned her shotgun against the log she was sitting on, and pulled out a bottle of whisky, taking a swig. The sniper began cleaning his rifle, inspecting each piece of the machine with extreme detail. The robot settled down next to Weiss, who immediately started to pet the small machine. Lastly, the woman in the duster sat down, laying her repeater across her lap. The woman leaned towards the fire, and began to speak. "Alright, I need to ask a couple questions. Who the hell are you, why are you headed through Quarry Junction instead of taking the safer route around the mountains through Novac, and what the hell made you think it was a good idea to pet a BABY FUCKING DEATHCLAW!"

The team recoiled slightly at the woman's yelling, but they were soon over it. Yang spoke up first, explaining the entire journey from getting the job in Primm, to the Mojave outpost. As yang mentioned the shifty looking soldier with the bull tattoo, the sniper looked up from his rifle, shocked look on his face. "Nipton was confirmed safe for travel two days ago, and the NCR would never have foot soldiers redirecting trade traffic without a Ranger to help out. Whoever sent you on that suicidal detour sure as hell wasn't NCR."

The entire team facepalmed in unison.

The woman chuckled and stood up, approaching Ruby. She stuck her hand out. "The name's Liz. This is Boone," the sniper nodded. "Cass," The woman in the flannel waved. "and ED-E." The robot beeped happily.

Ruby stood up and accepted the woman's hand. "My name's Ruby. This is Weiss,"

"Greetings." The heiress said, nodding slightly.

"Blake,"

"Hello there." Responded the raven haired girl.

"and my sister Yang."

"Sup." The blonde brawler said with a grin, waving at the team's saviors.

After greetings were exchanged, Ruby moved from her spot between Weiss and Yang, and proceeded to sit down next to Boone, whom was still working on cleaning his rifle. "What size round does she use?"

The man looked at the young girl, slightly confused. "What?"

"Your rifle? What caliber round does she fire?" The girl asked, having to look about a foot upwards to make eye contact with the fellow marksman.

"It fires a standard .308 sniper round." The man said, believing he would stump the girl with weapon statistics.

"I expected as much. It is just hard to tell with the modifications to the receiver." Ruby responded.

"How can you tell the rifle is modified?" Boone asked, raising an eyebrow to the girl's keen eye spotting his modifications.

"Easy. The receiver is obviously bulkier than a normal one, with a few mechanisms added to give a little more kick. This brings the negative effect of the rifle only being able to hold a five round clip. The bolt is titanium instead of steel, making it lighter and allowing for a faster rate of fire. The scope appears to be built for extremely long range shots, as the length suggests a magnification range from x5 to x10, at least. The stock looks like wood on the surface, but seems to have a metal core to add to damage when being swung, and to avoid recoil." Ruby responded, a cocky smile forming on her lips.

Boone was shocked. Most gun experts had trouble spotting any modifications made to the rifle, and this girl had just listed them like she had built the thing herself, all just from glancing at it for less than a minute. He was about to question her expertise when she continued.

"What's her name?"

" _His_ name is _Paciencia_. It reminds me to compensate for the clip size by being patient and making every shot count." He responded, patting his rifle to emphasize the connection.

"Seems fitting. I've never been too fond of the .308 round. I find the .50cal to be a bit more fitting to my combat style." Ruby said. The two than began talking about the one thing they both were experts in; High caliber, long range firearms.

As Ruby and Boone began arguing over the concept of a fully automatic sniper rifle, Yang turned to face the courier. "If I may ask, why did you decide to save us? It wouldn't have affected you if you had just left us to die."

The courier looked at the brawler before shaking her head and laughing. "What, just because it's a wasteland means kindness doesn't exist? I happened to be in the mood to save you idiots from becoming deathclaw chow. If you want, I can throw the lot of you back into the canyon as an offering to the damn beast…"

"NO! Sorry if I seemed ungrateful, it's just that most people don't run into a suicidal situation just to save a few girls." Yang responded, hoping she didn't offend her host.

"Don't worry blondie! I'm just screwing with ya. I may be a courier, but if someone is about to get ripped in half, I may as well try and get them out alive instead."

Suddenly, something in Yang's head clicked. The courier job, the air of invincibility, the bullet scars… "Are you the courier they found shot outside of Goodsprings?"

Liz looked at Yang, hand slowly drifting to meet the two scars on her head and temple. "Damn. That name's been spreading across the Mojave like wildfire. Most people who know my story have started callin' me 'The Courier', like some massive title. Honestly, I've never been one for fame, but it sure as hell strokes the ego when someone I don't know recognizes me like some pre-war celebrity."

Yang looked at Liz, observing her in more detail. She was wearing a long, worn out camo duster, with light leather armor underneath. On her arm was a Pip-Boy nearly identical to Yang's, only it emitted an amber light instead of a green one. She was holding a revolver, made of black metal with an ivory grip, the word _Lucky_ engraved on the barrel. On her hip sat a katana, the grip and sheath worn and frayed, but the holes in the sheath that Yang could see through showed that the blade was very well maintained. On her lap sat a leaver action repeater, wooden stock chipped from age. She had jet black hair, with a few streaks of purple mixed in, pulled back into a ponytail. Her eyes, like her hair, were a deep purple.

Yang was thinking of ways to break the awkward silence, when a sudden crash sounded from behind her. Yang quickly turned around, ready for a fight. What she saw was… intriguing, to say the least. Blake was chasing a red dot, which ED-E was managing to emit from the laser on his underbelly. Needless to say, Yang immediately fell backwards off the log and began laughing.

After calming down, Liz thumbed a few commands into her Pip-Boy, causing a miscellaneous collection of bottles to appear. "Anyone up for a drink?"

Liz tossed a beer to Yang, who proceeded to open it and take a swig. Boone grabbed a bottle of scotch, and handed Ruby a bottle of _Sunset Sarsaparilla_ before she could reach for a glowing blue bottle labeled _Nuka Cola Quantum._ Blake grabbed a bottle of red wine, sipping slowly. Ruby looked up, wondering where Weiss was, when she saw Weiss and Cass, passed out and leaning against each other, a bottle of whisky in the cowgirl's hand, a bottle of vodka in the heiress'.

The next morning, the two teams packed their equipment and prepared to leave the town. Blake made another dose of what Yang started calling 'the refreshing beverage', and gave a dose to Weiss and Cass. As soon as each party had their equipment ready to travel, Ruby walked up to Liz. "Thanks again for the help."

"Don't mention it, just being a nice person. Anyway, where are you four headed?" Liz asked, interested where the young courier's package was bound.

"We're headed up towards Camp McCarran." Ruby responded.

Liz thought for a moment, before looking at the group of teens. "We're headed that way too. If you guys wanted to, I don't know… travel together, than I'm ok wi… AH!"

Ruby immediately jumped onto Liz's back, literally vibrating in excitement. "THEN LET'S GET GOING!"

 _AN_ _: Well, that was a fun chapter to write. Did I do ok? Does anyone like/dislike where I'm going with Liz? I'm going for a 'Wasteland Samurai + badass Sheriff' feel with her, and hope to develop her as a character because remember: even though they will help along the way, team RWBY will not be the only ones deciding the final fate of Vegas. That job falls upon the Courier herself. I'm going to go through with the story like normal until everyone meets house and Benny is handled, but after that, I'll see where you people want the game's story to go, and try to sail the story that way (as long as it doesn't lead to the Legion ending). Now, time for a few comment responses:_

 _BlueScreen26_ _: I added the Pip-Boy and V.A.T.S. almost as a way to balance out the lack of the team's core weapons and abilities. I think they add a little bit of flair to the story, and make it a little easier to explain the team carrying their equipment. VATS won't be used a freakish amount of the time, but will be used in some key moments. On the note of realism, I think that went out the window with the fact that it's RWBY plus New Vegas! Doc giving the team the gear was done out of the old man's heart, as A: He realizes there is no way he is going to use the stuff B: He is unwilling to allow a group of children to go into the wasteland without at least some equipment, and C: I thought the Courier's Stash gear plus a few small tweaks would be perfect for the team's starting gear in the wasteland. I'm sorry for these small details not pleasing you, and I thank you for liking the rest of the story anyway._

 _Everyone who answered the random question_ _: Blake made the refreshing beverage from Fallout 4 to kill Weiss' hangover. Good job to everyone that got it!_

 _Kien Kotei_ _: Thanks for another review! On the note of Weiss, I won't make her swear 24/7 (That will eventually be Yang's job), but this chapter was special. What would you do if you woke up with a hangover and a 15 year old sharpshooter tackled you? PS: Thanks for agreeing to be my beta._


	5. Chapter 5 - Kill or be Killed

_AN_ _: Hello readers! It's DovahCourier, here again with a new chapter! I am surprised and greatly honored by the amount of positive feedback you guys gave on the last chapter, and I hope you all like this one as well! This one was a bit tricky to write, and is mostly about the team realizing this is not Remnant anymore, and there are a few important things to adapt to if they want to survive in the wasteland._

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 _I do not own RWBY or Fallout: New Vegas. If I did, this would be the actual New Vegas storyline. RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth, and New Vegas belongs to Obsidian Entertainment/Bethesda._

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 **The Tale of Dust and Sand**

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Five: Kill or Be Killed

The day of traveling went on without any interruptions. By noon, the team and The Courier's party had arrived at the outskirts of Nipton. As Ruby was about to head through the fence that marked the town's border, Liz stopped her. "We should go around. The Legion may be gone, but there are still a few bark scorpions swarming the place." Liz only sounded half convinced by her own argument, but had a look of almost motherly concern on her face.

Ruby nodded, happy to avoid scorpions wherever she could. The group followed Liz around the southern edge of the town, following the fence that surrounded the collection of trailers and buildings. There seemed to be a column of smoke coming up from the center of town, but the source was blocked by some of the buildings. The group had just crossed a set of train tracks, passing by a sign saying _'Welcome to Nevada!'_ , when a sharp _CRACK_ filled the air. The group spun their heads around to see a group of at least five men, wearing what appeared to be modified sports gear, standing about thirty yards away. "Legion scouting party!" Boone yelled, shouldering his rifle and taking aim.

"Shit… ED-E, lead the girls back to Novac! Boone, Cass, we have some legionaries to entertain!" Liz shouted, pulling out her repeater. The Eyebot beeped in an almost disappointed tone, before zooming off across the tracks, headed for a small pass between two rocky sandstone cliffs.

Team RWBY immediately began running after ED-E, hoping not to lose him. As the team reached the canyon, the Eyebot slowed down. The group could hear gunshots in the distance, but dared not look back at the battle unfolding behind them.

The team reached a ruined trailer truck about halfway through the canyon. The back was opened up, revealing a few metal crates and ammo boxes. Yang approached the crates, excited to get a bit of spare ammo. "Hey guys, over here! I think we just hit the jackp… Aw, never mind!"

Yang was immediately disappointed when she opened one of the crates, revealing it to be completely empty. The team was about to continue their walk through the canyon, when they suddenly heard a loud metallic _CRASH_ from behind them. The team quickly turned, and were greeted by the sight of a massive man wearing a set of heavy metal armor standing over a knocked out ED-E, holding a tire iron. "Well, looks like the trap worked. I wonder how many caps I can get from the Legion for these little beauties."

The man raised the tire iron above his head and began to walk towards the team, a maniac smile forming on his face. Ruby and Weiss screamed, hiding themselves further inside the truck. Yang put herself between the man and her sister, ready to put up a fight if needed. Blake stepped forward, pistol in one hand, combat knife hidden behind her back in the other. "What do you plan on doing with us?!"

"It's plain and simple, lil' missy. I'm going to take everything you girls own, and sell you to the Legion for chem money." The man said, advancing and forcing the girls farther into the trailer.

Blake took aim with her pistol, hoping to ward the man off. "You will put the tire iron away, and let us go freely. Or. Else."

The man laughed, showing his decayed teeth. "What are ya gonna do, shoot me? You don't have the balls, girl. Now put the gun down and hope I don't have my way with the lot of you before I sell you to Caesar!"

Blake uttered an animalistic scream and lunged at the man, bringing her knife out from behind her. She embedded it's blade under his right arm, sending it through the armor and into his side. The man yelled in pain and swung the tire iron wildly. Blake dodged the blow, stepping close enough to the man to avoid his swings. She brought her pistol up under the man's chin, pulling the trigger. There was a loud _BANG,_ and the trailer's ceiling was suddenly painted with a mix of blood, bone, and brain matter.

Blake threw the man off of her, letting his limp body hit the floor with a sickening _splat_. Yang just stared, a look of complete and utter shock on her face. Weiss covered her mouth, stifling a scream of terror. Ruby fell to her hands and knees, tears running down her face, screaming and shaking uncontrollably, before fainting.

Blake's hands were shaking. She couldn't see straight. She couldn't hear Yang panicking, or Weiss trying to get Ruby to wake up. All she could hear was the gunshot, repeating over and over in her ears. All she could see was the man's face, shifting from maniac joy to pure fear as her pistol's barrel contacted his chin. All she could see was the splatter of blood on the trailer's ceiling, marking the fact that she had just taken a life, something so fragile, so delicate, and ended it in less than three seconds. She had become exactly what she had sworn to never become. She had become… like _Him_.

Blake was pulled back into reality when she felt something contact her shoulder. She turned to look, and saw that Yang had put a hand on her shoulder. "It's ok, Blake. It was him, or us. You just saved our lives."

Blake began bawling, a wave of tears cascading down her face. "I should've tried talking first. I should've given him my caps and hoped he would leave. I should've…"

She was cut off by Yang pulling her into a tight hug. "If you had done that, he would've just taken our stuff and… I don't even want to know what he had in mind for us. While it may have seemed excessive, killing him was the only way we could've made it out alive. Thank you." Blake nodded, realizing Yang was right. This world was different from Remnant. Here, it was a lawless world of kill or be killed. _He_ killed for no good reason besides raw savagery, and for a mislead cause. Blake had killed to help her friends survive.

Yang helped Blake up off of the floor, patting her on the back as she did. Blake looked to where ED-E lay, and realized the robot was gone. In his place was Liz, standing in the trailer's doorway.

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Liz was irritated. ED-E had flown INTO her, ruining her shot on the Legion party's leader, and wouldn't stop beeping like a broken alarm clock until she started following him. Liz followed ED-E until he reached the canyon, where she immediately realized something was wrong. There was a cacophony of cries and screams coming from an abandoned trailer, and the girls were nowhere to be found. Suddenly, the loud _BANG_ of a handgun sounded from the trailer. She ran over to the open end of the trailer, and was utterly shocked by what she saw.

Inside were the four girls, all backed into the far end of the trailer. Weiss was on the floor, knees to her chest, rocking herself back and forth, covering her ears and muttering to herself incoherently. Ruby had apparently fainted. Yang was standing next to Blake, trying to comfort her. Blake was standing over a dead body, gun in hand, panicking. Liz walked forward, stepping over the body. She put a hand on Blake's shoulder, before pulling the girl into a hug.

Blake began bawling again. "I… I killed…"

"Shhh, its ok… it's ok…" Liz said, calming the girl down. She pulled out of the hug and turned to face Yang. "We need to get moving, Boone and Cass can't distract the Legion forever. You carry Ruby, I'll get Weiss."

Yang nodded and walked over to her sister, throwing Ruby over her shoulder. Liz crouched down next to Weiss, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Weiss, I know there are a lot of things running through your head right now, but we need to go. We can talk about it once we get to Novac."

"Blood… So much…" Weiss muttered, still shaking out of shock from the events that had just unfolded. Liz sighed, realizing it would be hopeless to try and calm the girl down while less than five feet from a dead body. Liz grabbed the heiress around the waist, and hoisted the girl onto her shoulder.

"Alright, let's get back to Novac. ED-E, care to lead the way?"

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By four fifteen, the group had reached Novac. Boone and Cass had caught up with the group, managing to lose the scouting party before darting through the canyon. The group gathered in Liz's room in the Novac motel, somehow managing to cram seven people and an irritable Eyebot into the room. Ruby was on the bed, still out cold. Weiss was on the other side of the bed, still curled up in a ball. Yang sat between the two, hugging them in an attempt to comfort them. The others were all standing (or floating) in various places around the room.

"So… What exactly happened?" Cass asked, hoping to learn why their new companions looked like they had been dragged through hell and back.

Yang made brief eye contact with Blake, before speaking up. "ED-E was leading us through the canyon east of Nipton. I stopped to investigate the abandoned trailer about halfway through the canyon, hoping to find some ammo. Apparently, it was a trap set up by some slaver. He attempted to rob us, and was planning to sell us to the Legion, but Blake… she…" Yang broke off, shuddering at the memory of the incident.

Liz spoke up, not wanting Yang to fall into a panic attack. "Blake saved the others by… giving the bastard an improvised lobotomy." She emphasized her point by making a gun with her fingers and tapping her temple. A look of realization dawned upon Boone and Cass's faces.

Boone reached into a bag at his side, pulling out a syringe full of a reddish purple liquid. He approached Weiss, who immediately recoiled. "What exactly is that?!"

Boone sighed, then looked the teen in the eyes. "It's only Med-X, a painkiller. I'm only going to give you a quarter strength dose, see if it helps you calm down."

Weiss eyed the man suspiciously, reluctant to accept the mysterious medicine. Yang squeezed her shoulder. "Let the man help, Ice Queen. If it hurts, just tell me, and I'll handle Boone for you." Yang kept a level, kind tone, but managed to clearly express an unspoken threat aimed at the sniper: _You harm my friend, I fucking end you_. Weiss thought for a second, before nodding and lifting her sleeve.

Boone put the needle into the teen's arm, and depressed the plunger about a quarter of the way down. Weiss immediately uncurled from her ball, obviously a lot less tense thanks to the painkiller. She looked at Boone, an expression of relief on her face. "Thanks, I needed that."

"No problem. I've seen soldiers react the same way after their first real fight." Boone said, placing a small strip of duct tape over the injection point as an improvised bandage.

Liz spoke up. "Alright, if we're all calmed down now, I need to go see to a problem with a few ghouls up at the old REPCONN Test Site. If anyone wants to come along, you're welcome to join me."

Yang immediately grabbed Weiss' wrist and leapt up from the bed. "Come on, Ice Queen; let's go get some fresh air!"

"I told you to stop calling me that!" Weiss retorted, but went along with the blonde's plan to get out for a bit. The trio was about to head out the door, when ED-E came barreling at full speed behind them, running into Weiss. Yang let out a chuckle, before closing the door behind her, leaving Boone, Cass, Blake, and Ruby alone in the room.

Boone walked up to Cass and whispered something in her ear. The ex-caravan boss nodded, and moved over to the bed, sitting down next to Ruby. Boone approached Blake, and spoke up. "C'mon, let's go for a walk."

"What?" Blake asked, confused.

"I just want to go for a quick walk, and talk to you about a few things." Boone responded, tone staying neutral.

Blake hesitated for a moment, but realized the man honestly just wanted to talk, so she followed him to the door, leaving Cass and a still unconscious Ruby alone in the room. Boone led Blake to the large dinosaur in the middle of town ( _AN: I can't tell you how hard it was to write that sentence with a straight face)_. Boone walked up the stairs, opening the door and beckoning Blake inside.

Inside, Blake was greeted by a man standing behind a counter, a sign behind him reading _Dino Bite Gift Shop._ The man looked up from behind the counter. "Hello, and welcome to the Dino Bite Gift Shop! The name's Cliff Briscoe. How may I help you today?"

Before Blake could respond, Boone came up behind her, guiding her up another set of stairs and out another door. The next thing Blake knew, she was looking out over an abandoned highway from the inside of a dinosaur's mouth. Seated in a chair facing towards the highway was a man, wearing a beret identical to Boone's, looking over the desert in front of him through a sniper rifle's scope. Boone approached the man, tapping him on the shoulder. The man immediately spun around, hand reaching for a revolver on his hip, but immediately calmed down when he saw Boone. "Boone! Bloody hell, you should know never to sneak up on a sniper!"

"Hello to you too, _Manny_." Boone responded sarcastically. "Would you mind if I took the rest of the shift?"

Manny quickly looked from Boone, to Blake, to Boone again, and a sly grin appeared on his face. Before he could say anything, Boone pulled out his combat knife and halfheartedly aimed it at Manny's throat. "Not. A fucking. Word."

"Fuckin hell Boone put the knife away! You know I'm just kidding around!" Manny said, sarcastically throwing his hands in the air. He then reached a hand out to shake Blake's. "Hello madam. The name's Manny Vargas. I'm obviously the more tolerable of Novac's two snipers. If you need anything, I'll be down in the shop."

Blake shook the man's hand, amused by the complete contrast between the town's two marksmen. As Manny left, Boone sat in the chair, pulling a spare folding chair out from under his seat. He unfolded the spare chair, and placed it next to his. Blake sat down.

Boone took out his rifle, observing the surrounding area though the scope. "So, was that the first time you've killed somebody?"

Blake was shocked by the man's straightforwardness, but answered honestly. "Yes, it was."

Boone continued to look down the scope, taking a shot and killing passing gecko. "What did you feel immediately after it happened? Anger? Fear? Shock? Bloodlust?"

"Mostly shock, mixed with realization. I realized that I had just taken something as fragile as life, and splattered it across the ceiling of an abandoned trailer. I think I should have just let him take our things and give us to the Legion."

Boone did a double take at this statement, not believing his ears. He put his rifle down and looked Blake in the eyes. "Listen to me, Blake. While it may have seemed better in the immediate moment, you would prefer to kill a hundred men in cold blood over becoming a Legion slave. Do you have any idea how they treat women? How they treat girls like you and your team?"

Blake shook her head, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"Those _monsters_ treat them as lesser beings! If they decided you were worthy, which the four of you are, you would have been made breeders, forced to… _socialize_ … with the best legionnaires Caesar has. After the birth, you would be forced to watch as your children were ripped away from you, the males turned into soldiers, the females turned into slaves or killed. If you didn't make it as breeders, you would have been turned into service slaves, forced to cater to a veteran legionnaire's every need. If you failed at that, you would have been lashed to near death, then put up on a cross, left to _fucking die_!" Boone spat out those last words with a tone of venom in his voice, letting an apparent hatred for the Legion break through his normally neutral tone.

Blake was shocked. Even with the direction the White Fang had been going before she had left, she hadn't realized this amount of barbarity, this amount of pure evil could possibly exist. She was disgusted that a group was capable of holding such a twisted mentality as a standard. She looked at Boone. "I had no idea that the Legion was so…" Blake began, but was cut off by Boone.

"It's ok, you had no clue how the Legion works. Just remember, this is the Wasteland, not some Pre-War fantasy. If you aren't willing to kill to survive, then there's no point to trying to survive in the first place." Boone responded, picking his rifle back up and taking aim out of the dino's mouth. "Head on back to the room, I'll come back down in a few hours."

Blake walked back down the steps, through the door to the gift shop, and across to the hotel room. She entered the room, and immediately realized Ruby and Cass were gone, apparently out for a walk. Blake checked her Pip-Boy, realizing it was already six pm. Before closing the door for the evening, Blake decided to step outside one more time for some fresh air.

Blake thought about the conversation she and Boone had had. As she thought, she realized that Boone was right; she had made the right choice. While killing was wrong, sometimes it was the only way to survive. The Legion would have treated the girls in a way that would make them wish they were dead. She realized she was no longer in Vale, where most crimes were handled by authorities. She realized that, if she and her team wanted to survive here in the Mojave, they would have to be prepared to spill the blood of others to do so.

Blake turned to head back inside, realizing she had been staring at the sky for almost an hour. As she turned to head in, she heard a loud _WHOOSH_ overhead. She turned to see a set of rocket ships flying across the sky, headed to places unknown.

Blake entered the room, took a swig of wine, and passed out on the couch.

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 **Two Hours Earlier:**

Ruby awoke with a start. Her breathing ragged, she racked her brain trying to remember what caused her to faint.

 _Blood… blood everywhere._

 _Weiss, standing nearby, eyes wide in terror._

 _Yang shouting something…._

 _Blake…...face covered in blood, breathing heavily._

Ruby stared at her hands eyes wide in terror, all she could see was the wide eyed Blake covered in blood, filled with desperation. At the same time, she saw her hands covered in blood. She started hyperventilating, her vision getting blurry, throat constricting.

The telltale feeling of bile slowly crept up her throat. Within seconds she was in the bathroom, emptying what little was left of her stomach. Cass watched from the doorway, knowing full well what the younger girl was going through.

As she put a hand on Ruby's back, the younger girl jumped slightly, revealing panic stricken silver eyes. Those eyes, which had once held almost limitless cheer, were now dulled by fear and confusion. Cass quickly removed the younger girl's hood, and then held her hair back. Ruby tried to ask what she was doing, but was interrupted by her stomach.

After what seemed like hours, Ruby was lying down on the hotel's bed, facing away from Cass. The silence was overbearing, Cass was used to long silence from traveling long roads solo, but this was too much.

"I'm just gonna be honest with you, I'm no good when it comes to this stuff." She said rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. Ruby only curled tighter into a ball, drawing even shorter breaths. Cass quickly grabbed Ruby by the shoulders, brought her up and slapped her across the face.

Ruby held her cheek in shock, surprised by the woman's sudden action. Cass hugged her, burying the smaller girl's face in her shoulder. "I know it hurts, I know it feels like everything you know has been torn apart, but don't let it take away who you are." She said, pulling from the hug and holding Ruby at arm's length.

Ruby looked at Cass, looked down at her hands, closed them and swallowed, then looked at Cass and nodded. Cass smiled and took her hat off, putting it on Ruby's head, ruffling the younger girl's hair in the process.

"I'll be honest; the first time I killed someone, I drowned myself in moonshine. Nearly gave my mother a heart attack." She said chuckling to herself.

Ruby looked at her quizzically. "What's moonshine?" She asked.

Cass laughed heartily, remembering a time when she had been just as innocent. She pulled out a medium sized bottle from behind the couch. "This, my young friend, is moonshine. This magical liquor makes that vodka shit your friend Weiss drinks look like water. While a bit of Pre-War alcohol never hurt, nothing beats a big jug o' home-brewed liquid fire." Cass proceeded to take a long chug from the bottle, emptying half of its contents down her throat. She then took a full bottle of _Nuka Cola_ , drank about an eighth of it, and filled the newly freed space with moonshine. She handed the cocktail to Ruby. "Here, this'll calm ya down a bit."

Reluctantly, Ruby accepted the bottle and took a sip. She immediately spit it out, disgusted by the taste of the alcohol. Cass fell of the bed, laughing her ass off. "Well, that's one way to react to it. If you ain't gonna finish that, give it to me." Ruby quickly handed the bottle to Cass, who finished the drink in about three seconds.

Cass, to Ruby's surprise, pulled out another bottle. _Where the hell is she getting all of these!?_ Ruby thought to herself. This bottle looked like a normal _Nuka_ , except the label had the word _Victory_ inscribed under the _Nuka_ logo, and the liquid glowed with a slight red-orange tint. "Here, this should taste a lot better." Cass said, tossing the drink to Ruby. Ruby removed the bottlecap, pocketed it, and took a small sip. Her eyes immediately widened, and she took another swig. _This… Now this is a drink!_ Ruby chugged the drink, the combination of _Nuka's_ signature taste and a bit of a citrus kick immediately calming the young huntress down.

Cass pulled herself up off of the floor and walked over to where her shotgun was resting against the wall. Picking up the weapon and slinging it over her shoulder, she proceeded to turn and face Ruby. "I'm going out for a walk. Care to join?"

Ruby grabbed her rifle and was at the door before Cass could even blink. "Sure, let's go."

Cass led Ruby north of town, heading up the abandoned highway. Ruby decided to try and dig into Cass's past a bit to pass the time. "So… Liz mentioned you used to be a caravan boss… What happened?"

Cass glared down at Ruby, unable to make eye contact due to the teen still wearing Cass's hat. "My caravan… it got hit hard a little while back. Nothing stolen, everything burned." Ruby realized the short answer meant the woman didn't want to talk about it, and didn't pry any further.

About an hour of walking passed, the duo chatting about small things to pass the time. They had just passed by an old garage and scrapyard, and were nearing an old power plant. Cass looked up to the sky, seeing the sun was just starting to kiss the horizon. "Ruby, I think it's about time we head back to the motel. The last thing we want is for a couple of coyotes or nightstalkers catching us out here at night."

Ruby nodded, fear of being eaten outweighing the curiosity of what a nightstalker was. The pair turned to start heading back to the motel, when a man stumbled out from behind a set of rocks. The man was wearing a set of what appeared to be modified sports equipment, a dark maroon color scheme showing on all of his clothing. Cass turned to face the man, pulling Ruby behind her defensively. "Hello mister… can we help you?"

The man muttered something incoherently. "Mind to repeat yourself, sir?" Cass asked, slowly reaching to draw her shotgun.

The man drew a spear from behind him, moving to throw it. " _AVE CAESAR!_ "

Cass drew her shotgun and fired twice, blowing a hole through the man's chest and turning his face into a red pulp. Before Ruby knew it, Cass had thrown Ruby over her shoulder and began running. They made it past the scrap yard, and were within a hundred yards of Novac when Cass felt a sudden, sharp pain in her left leg. She fell forward, throwing Ruby clear before hitting the ground. Cass tried to check her leg, but was dragged up by a set of massive, meaty hands.

Ruby recovered from the fall quickly, managing to roll onto her feet during impact. She turned her head, and was shocked by what she saw. Cass was being held by the collar, machete at her throat, by a massive legionnaire. This man was enormous, almost a whole foot taller than Cass, and had somehow managed to get a throwing dagger embedded in her left calf. He was wearing a much heavier variation of the last man's armor, this set apparently cobbled together with chunks of actual heavy armor mixed with heavy sports padding, topped off with a roman centurion's helmet made of scrap metal.

The man lifted Cass by the collar with his left hand, and prepared to send the machete across her neck with his right. Halfway through the swing, the man suddenly stopped, apparently mesmerized by something behind Ruby. Ruby didn't risk looking behind her, despite hearing the _WHOOSH_ of what she thought sounded like a rocket. Ruby took the moment of distraction to take aim with her rifle, slipping into VATS. She targeted the man's head, squeezed her eyes shut, and pulled the trigger.

Ruby opened her eyes, and realized she had somehow managed to miss the man's face, instead hitting his shoulder. The man had dropped Cass, but had started to swing his blade down anyway, and had no chance of missing her skull. Ruby lined up for another shot, but was interrupted by a sudden blue flash and a crackle of electricity.

Between Cass and the man stood a figure, almost as tall as the man but not as bulky as him. The figure was wearing a long, faded trench coat, with a fedora pulled low over their head, shrouding their face in shadow. The legionnaire had no time to react to the sudden appearance, as the figure drew a massive revolver from within their coat and stuck it directly between the man's eyes, pulling the trigger and instantly turning his head into a bloody mist with a loud _BANG_. The figure turned, and Ruby caught a flash of deep red hair before the mysterious figure disappeared in another flash of blue and crackle of electricity.

Ruby slumped to the ground, fainting once again.

Cass managed to yank the throwing dagger out of her calf and applied a stimpack, closing the wound immediately. She walked over to where Ruby had fallen, pulling the younger girl up and throwing her over her shoulder. _This girl passes out more than me on a bar crawl…_ was all Cass could think of as she began the trek back to Novac, shotgun in hand, young huntress slung over her back.

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 _AN_ _: Well, that chapter was a LOT longer than expected, and took a lot longer too. I hope I handled the team's reactions to death well. I would like to send extreme thanks to my friend and Beta; Kien Kotei, who might as well have co-wrote this chapter with the amount of input and help he gave me. If you get the chance, go read a few of his amazing stories over on his author page. Now, time for a few review responses (I didn't get that many this week.)_

 _Cole Tyger_ _: First off, thanks again for another great review, and for sticking with the story! I have been planning out the girl's gear for later, and you were actually very close to what I have planned. Ruby and Yang's weapons were obvious choices, but I have a few surprises planned for Blake and Weiss' loadouts. As for the apparel, I have a few specific things in mind that I'm sure you will like even more than your suggestions (No offence intended). Glad you liked the deathclaw scene, and I hope the story continues to please!_

 _Shaneman17_ _: Glad you like the story, and I hope the chapter answered your question. Glad you like the courier's character design, and you just gave me an idea for Weiss and Rex, so thanks!_

 _Well guys, that's another chapter out of the way! I hope you liked it, and I will see you all again in the next chapter!_

 _-_ _DovahCourier_


	6. Chapter 6 - Come Fly With Me

_AN_ _: Hello again readers, DovahCourier here! Nothing big to say, I just hope you enjoy the chapter!_

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 _I do not own RWBY or Fallout: New Vegas. RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth, and New Vegas belongs to Obsidian Entertainment/Bethesda._

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 **The Tale of Dust and Sand**

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Six: Come Fly with Me

Liz led Yang, Weiss and ED-E to the western edge of town, past a caravan tent and towards a winding side road. She was about to lead the group up the road, when she realized something important. She turned to face Yang and Weiss. "Do either of you actually know what a ghoul is?" The girls shook their head, slight expressions of worry showing on their faces. Liz sighed, wondering how to explain the concept of ghoulification to the girls. "Well, a ghoul is… How do I put this…"

Before Liz could continue on with the awkward attempt, Yang was distracted by a loud cry behind her. She looked behind Liz, catching sight of what looked to be a man, skin rotted and dry, rags clinging to his form. The man began to approach the group, letting out another dry, crackling cry as he began to run faster. Yang quickly stepped around Liz, drawing her brass knuckles. The man broke into a full sprint, and leapt at the group, arms outstretched and maw wide. Yang ducked below the 'man' and swung upwards with a swift uppercut, catching him in the jaw and throwing him over her. The man landed before Weiss, who drew her plasma pistol and sent a ball of green energy through his face, liquefying his brain.

Weiss immediately recoiled, disgusted by the dead… thing in front of her. She looked up to Liz, a confused expression on her face. "That, my friends, was a ghoul." Weiss shuddered at the idea of fighting the things, but Yang immediately perked up.

"WE GET TO SHOOT ZOMBIES?!" Yang exclaimed, trying (and failing) to hide an ecstatic level of joy. Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head in disbelief. Liz bent over, laughing at the Blonde's reaction.

"Well, that's one way to look at it. Let's get going." Liz began to walk up the road, Yang, Weiss, and ED-E in tow.

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A few minutes (and a few ghouls) later, the team had made it to the REPCONN site. The site consisted of a large industrial building with a small atrium in the front. In the center of the atrium was a statue of a rocket, blasting off through the sky. Sticking out of the face of a large mountain to the side of the facility was a large concrete half-dome, apparently an extension of the facility.

The group walked up the steps to the facility's main door, and was greeted by a body leaning against the wall near the door. It was a large humanlike in build, only much larger. The creature had leathery blue skin, cracked and dry from the heat. It wore a combination of tattered rags and rudimentary armor, cobbled together from scraps of metal. The thing was holding a large chunk of rebar attached to a piece of concrete the size of Weiss' head, apparently being used as a rudimentary club. Liz knelt down next to the body, examining it. "Fuck… Nightkin."

Yang and Weiss looked at the courier, confused. "What's a Nightkin?"

Liz turned to face the girls. "They're some of the meanest, toughest sons-o-bitches the wasteland has to offer. They are obsessed with pre war tech that is capable of turning them invisible, at the cost of screwing with their mental state. If there are more of the bastards in here, you'll want to stay behind me." The woman drew her revolver, storing her repeater in her Pip-Boy. Liz opened the door, leading the group into the building.

The group was met by a pitch black room. ED-E let out a shaky beep, almost sounding like fear. Liz powered up her Pip-Boy light, illuminating the room with a soft amber glow. "Are you happy now, ya big baby?"

The Eyebot beeped, embarrassed. Yang and Weiss illuminated their Pip-Boys, adding a green tint to the amber room. Yang looked around, realizing they were in what appeared to be the lobby of a corporation. There was a large receptionist's desk against the far wall, with the skeleton of what Yang assumed to be the desk's last user thrown into the corner. There was a door behind the desk, top half blown off to reveal a hallway going deeper into the facility. Yang approached the door ready to head further into the facility, when an intercom on the wall next to the desk crackled to life. _"Hey smoothskin, ya there?"_

Yang looked at the intercom, intrigued by the voice that sounded like it belonged to a ninety year old crack addict. She pressed the button on the device's face labeled 'talk'. "Who, me?"

" _No, I'm talking to the skeleton in the corner. OF COURSE I'M TALKIN TO YOU, DUMBASS! We need a bit of help upstairs, so if you could clear out any ferals on your way up, it'd be grand. See ya upstairs."_ With that, the intercom shut off, leaving Yang, Liz, Weiss and ED-E confused and shocked.

Yang was the first to shake off the initial reaction. "Well, I guess we're helping Mr. Chain-Smoker Voice with something upstairs. I don't know about you three, but I'm gonna go kill a few zombies on the way if any of you care to join." She drew her shotgun, and began walking deeper into the facility.

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After making their way through the facility, the group arrived in a large room. The ceiling was much higher in this room, and there were a few old catwalks leading up to what seemed to be an observation room. The group made their way up to the observation room, and was greeted by another intercom. Weiss walked up to the intercom, and was greeted by the scratchy voice. _"Good, you all survived. Let me unlock the door."_

A series of clicks emitted from behind the metal door, before it opened to reveal a short, balding man in a lab coat. "Hurry up and get in here!" The man said curtly, his scratchy voice matching the one on the intercom. The group hurried in, allowing the man to lock the door behind him.

The man turned and looked at the group, a look of disgust forming on his face. "God you smoothskins are ugly! Get upstairs and talk to Jason before I throw up."

Weiss' jaw dropped. She stepped towards the man, going from _zero_ to _I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU_ in less than a second. "WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO CALL ME UGLY!? IF ANYONE, YOU ARE THE UGLY ONE YOU BALD LITTLE…" Yang and Liz immediately grabbed Weiss, covering the heiress' mouth before she could continue.

"Hey, just because I'm a ghoul doesn't mean you can make fun of me for my looks!" The man retorted, apparently offended by the young woman's comments.

Yang looked at the man, than at Liz and Weiss, than at the man again. "Ghoul?"

The man looked at the blonde, even more offended than he had been at Weiss. "What do you mean 'ghoul' ya fuckin' smoothskin? Ain't it obvious I'm an irradiated zombie! Your pranks won't work on me, and the sure as hell won't work on Jason." Before Yang could point out the man's obvious confusion, Liz and ED-E pulled the duo up the stairs behind the man.

At the top of the stairs stood a ghoul who appeared to be glowing out of pure radiation. Weiss pulled out her pistol and took aim, but Liz knocked the plasma weapon out of the white haired girl's hand, realizing she had forgotten to mention not all ghouls were feral. The ghoul put his hands up in a sign of peace. "Hello friends. I am glad you could make it. I am Jason Bright."

Yang immediately bit down on her own fist, attempting to hold back a laugh at the glowing ghoul's pun-worthy name. Liz stepped forward, taking charge of the situation. "Thanks for letting us in. There have been feral ghouls roaming the area, preventing the townspeople from scavenging for important scrap. We were sent to find, and if needed, eliminate, the problem."

Jason looked surprised at the woman's statement, than spoke up. "I am sorry some of our brothers have gone… wild recently, and we thank you for putting them out of their misery. We plan on leaving on our great journey as soon as the basement is cleared out of the demons that have taken up residence."

Weiss and Yang were confused by the man's statement, but Liz suddenly realized what these 'demons' might be. "Are these demons you speak of massive blue humanoids? Possibly using Pre-War stealth boys?"

Jason nodded somberly. "Yes. These creatures have taken over the facility's basement, preventing us from starting the great journey."

Liz sighed, obviously more irritated than actually afraid. "Alright ladies, stick behind me and ED-E, we have a few Nightkin to kill."

The group began to walk back down the stairs, but Jason called out again. "Wait! After the demons are gone, there are still a few things we will need for the great journey."

Liz turned to face him, muttering under her breath in an irritated tome. "What else is needed?"

"We will need a bit of rocket fuel, and a thrust control module for a spacecraft."

The entire group stared at Jason as if he had just suggested starting a Second Great War. Yang spoke up. "Well, this just got a bit more complicated."

Liz told Jason they would be back later, and turned to leave, Yang, ED-E and Weiss in tow. Once they were out of the room, Liz turned to face the others. "Alright, looks like we need to help these ghouls with a bit of rocket science. Weiss, head back to town and talk to Cliff Briscoe in the general store. He might have salvaged some rocket fuel from up here in the past." Weiss nodded and left the room, ready for the walk back to Novac. "Yang, there is a scrap yard just north of Novac run by an old lady. Here are about 250 caps, see if you can find the thrust module and buy it from her." Yang nodded, taking the bag of caps.

"Wait, what are you and ED-E going to do?" Yang asked, realizing the courier probably had a plan she wasn't telling her.

A cocky smile formed on Liz's face and she drew her weapons, katana in one hand, _Lucky_ in the other. "I have a few mutants to take care of."

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Weiss entered the dinosaur shaped building in the center of Novac. Inside, she was greeted by a cheerful old man speaking to a younger man with a sniper rifle slung on his back. The older man turned away from his friend, facing the new customer. "Hello young lady! Welcome to the _Dino Bite Gift Shop._ My name is Cliff Briscoe. How can I be of service today?"

Weiss stepped up to the counter. "Yes, hello sir. I was wondering if you would happen to have any fuel salvaged from the REPCONN site up the road."

The man thought to himself for a moment, before reaching under the desk and pulling out a model rocket. "These lil' bastards were made before the war. Whatever they're full of, it sure as hell isn't fruit punch. 20 caps for each rocket."

Weiss was about to pay for a bundle of five, but had a better idea. "Just to ask, who has bought these before me?"

The man's face fell from happiness to an expression of embarrassment and worry. "Well… there was that one chemhead looking for a new high…"

Weiss smirked. She had nailed the bastard. "Than why charge a whopping twenty caps a piece for junk! I have an proposal; I buy your entire stock of these things for the price of one, and in exchange, I'll tell caravans on the road this is the best shop for a hundred miles. Do we have a deal?"

The man's jaw dropped. He stretched his hand out and shook Weiss'. "Deal. Here, I'll show you the stockroom."

Weiss followed the man into a small storage room behind the counter. As Weiss caught sight of the inside of the room, her ego inflated tenfold at her bartering abilities. Inside the room was at least a hundred of the rockets, all glowing and filled with rocket fuel.

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Yang reached the junkyard north of Novac. Sitting in an old rocking chair, surrounded by at least four dogs, was an old lady wearing grease covered overalls and a pair of welding goggles. _'This is going to be interesting'_ Yang thought to herself as she approached the woman.

The woman looked up at the Blonde approaching her, and smiled. "Hello there! What brings a young woman like you up to Old Lady Gibson's junkyard?"

"I was wondering if you would happen to have a spare thrust control module from the REPCONN site west of here." Yang said, deciding to get straight to the point.

The old lady got up and entered her garage, beckoning for Yang to follow. Inside, Yang was met by walls covered in shelves, which in turn were covered in thousands of little pieces of scrap. _'Wow, Ruby would kill to spend five minutes in here'_ Yang thought as Ms. Gibson pulled out a metal box from one of the shelves. She reached inside and pulled out what Yang assumed to be the piece. "I have three of them here in this box, only 500 caps."

Yang's jaw dropped. "500!? Isn't that a bit excessive for an old rocket part?"

The old lady grinned. "Hey, we need to make a living somewhere. 500 or no… What was that?" Gibson was interrupted by the sound of her dogs barking outside. She and yang rushed out the door.

Standing on a ridge a dozen meters away was a pack of what seemed to be half a dozen coyotes. Yang drew her grenade rifle and prepared to fire on the group, but hesitated when she noticed something. _'Do… do coyotes have scales?'_

One of the beasts charged at Yang. She dropped her grenade rifle and drew her shotgun, taking aim. The thing leapt at her, maw opened and revealing teeth much too long and sharp to be those of a coyote. Yang pulled the trigger, sending half a dozen pellets through the beast's mouth and into its skull.

The others leapt off of the ridge, infuriated at the death of their alpha. Yang picked up her discarded launcher and loaded a grenade into it. She pulled the trigger, and was surprised when four of the beasts were engulfed in flame. _'Note to self, read grenade label BEFORE firing.'_

Yang stored her launcher in her Pip-Boy and retrieved her shotgun. The last beast jumped at her before she could reload, and managed to scratch her left hand with one of its fangs before the brawler kicked the beast backwards. Yang screamed. Her hand felt like it was on fire. Out of rage, Yang jumped at the beast and swung her shotgun by the barrel, shattering both the beast's skull and the weapon's stock.

Old lady Gibson ran up to the younger woman, a bottle labeled 'antivenom' in her hand. She grabbed Yang's hand, pouring the liquid onto the wound before she could respond. Within a few seconds, the wound on Yang's hand had stopped burning, and now only stung.

Gibson led Yang into the garage. "Damn nightstalkers, trying to get my dogs. Thanks for the help."

"Don't mention it, just doing my job. Here are the caps for the parts." Yang pulled out a bag of caps, but Gibson shook her head.

"Just take the parts, it's the least I can do."

"Thanks miss!" Yang exclaimed, loading the parts into her Pip-Boy. Yang turned to leave, but was stopped by Ms. Gibson on the way out."

"I see your shotgun had a little bit of an accident. Here, take this." The woman reached under her bed and tossed Yang a weapon. Yang looked it over, noticing it was a shotgun much like hers. The only differences were the lack of a stock, a shorter barrel, and the fact that the barrels were side by side instead of top and bottom. Yang tried to load it, but the small shell went straight through and landed on the floor.

Old Lady Gibson chuckled. "Well, I guess _Big Boomer_ there has a bit more bang than your old caravan cannon. Here, give me all of your shells, and I'll give you a few of the right size." The duo exchanged ammo, shook hands, and Yang left for the REPCONN site.

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Yang arrived at the REPCONN site about an hour later. She began walking up the stairs to the main facility, but was interrupted by a call from behind her. Yang turned and saw Weiss standing on top of a large rock across the atrium from Yang, waving for the blonde to come over. Yang approached the rock, and walked around it. She was surprised to see Weiss opening up a hatch leading underground.

"Hey ice queen, glad to see you made it. What is this exactly?" Yang asked, curious.

"It's the back door into the launch site." Weiss responded.

"Launch site? What exactly are we launching?"

"Just get in here."

The duo climbed down a ladder into what appeared to be an underground tunnel. Weiss led Yang through the tunnel to a small control room. In the room stood Jason, the angry bald man, ED-E, and Liz. The bald man was shaking Jason's hand, a look of sadness on his face. "It… it has been an honor, Jason. I hope you find what you are seeking at the end of the great journey."

"Thank you, Chris. I am sorry for deceiving you, and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me." Jason replied, pulling Chris into a hug. The ghoul let go of his human friend, and turned to face the newcomers. "Thank you for your help humans. Without your help, we would never have been able to start our great journey. Now, if you could please give me the thruster module, the great journey can begin!"

Yang handed the parts to the man, who thanked the group again before heading through a hatch in the room's floor. Yang looked out the room's window, and suddenly realized why Weiss had called it the launch site.

Beyond the window was a large room, with three massive rockets on launch platforms in the middle. Jason Bright and his followers were boarding the rockets, apparently preparing to depart. Yang was about to question the sanity of the situation, when Chris spoke up. "Alright, the lot of you needs to get up to the control room to start the launch. I'll head over to Novac, see if I can start a new life there. Thanks for the help." The group nodded, and began making their way through the basement to the control room.

On the way, Yang realized something. "Liz, where are all the Nightkin bodies? I thought you said you were going to handle them."

"I did handle them. They were looking for stealth tech, and I proved there wasn't any here, so they moved on. No bloodshed needed." Yang and Weiss nodded in approval, respecting the woman's willingness to take the diplomatic approach instead of charging in guns blazing.

A few minutes later, the group had reached the control balcony. Liz looked at the panel that controlled the launch, and began tweaking a few of the controls. "What exactly are you doing?" Yang and Weiss asked at the same time.

"I'm just readjusting the coordinates of the launch so they land a bit farther west of their original target. I'm not in the mood to send three rockets full of ghouls straight into the Atlantic Ocean after wasting an afternoon helping them prepare a rocket." Liz finished the adjustments, and pressed the launch button.

Immediately, the ground began to shake. The concrete dome opposite the facility began to open up, revealing the rockets. There was a rumbling noise as the engines ignited, than a loud _WOOOSH_ as the rockets flew overhead, headed east to lands unknown. Yang grinned like an idiot, still in slight shock from what had just happened. Weiss laughed, impressed that the things could still fly. ED-E beeped happily, playing cavalry music to celebrate the launch. Liz just stood there, leaning with her elbow on the control panel, staring at the sky as the stars began to reveal themselves.

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 _AN_ _: Well, that was a fun chapter! Sorry it was a bit short, but I believe the next chapter should make up for it when Remnant's toughest brawler meets the Mojave's strongest field scribe. Now, for a few comment responses:_

 _Roach99_ _: Yes, yes I did. I always wondered how the armored V13 jumpsuit made it to New Vegas, so I came up with my own explanation!_

 _On Soaring Wings_ _: You'll just have to wait and see *evil laugh*_

 _Shaneman17_ _: First off, thanks for another review! I'm glad you liked how I had the team react to death, as it took me and my beta about five hours of arguing and thinking to get the reactions right. There won't be any mutations, but I do have a couple ideas in the works involving cybernetics *wink wink*. As for the faction choice, see below for information on how I'm handling that situation after the last comment response._

 _Captaindickscratcher_ _: Thanks for the input! I don't know if it was your username, the comment on giving Weiss a cannon, or both, but this review really made my day. Thanks!_

 _OK, now that that's out of the way, I have a few things to address. First off, I just realized we broke the 25 follower milestone! While that may be a small number, I am honored to realize that something as small and odd as this piece has caught people's attention, and I thank all of you for that!_

 _Continuing on, for those who skipped the alert chapter on Saturday, I have opened up a poll for this story on my author page. I am getting to the point that he characters will start to make faction specific choices, so I am starting with the question of what faction ending I should 100% eliminate from the story. The result will be posted along with chapter eight two weeks from now, so there will be time for readers to vote._

 _Lastly, I have started a small side story about throwing RWBY's Nora into the Shivering Isles DLC for Oblivion. It will not take priority over this story, and will mostly be updated casually every two or so weeks._

 _Thanks again to everyone reading. If it wasn't for you guys, this would just be a collection of stupid thoughts in the back of my head, and not a fully fledged story. Have an amazing day readers!_

 _-DovahCouier_


	7. Chapter 7 - The 188

_AN_ _: Hello again readers, DovahCourier here! Nothing to say until the end, and I just hope you all like the chapter!_

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 _I do not own RWBY or Fallout: New Vegas. RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth, and New Vegas belongs to Obsidian Entertainment/Bethesda._

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 **The Tale of Dust and Sand**

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Seven: The 188

Blake slowly drifted awake. She pulled herself up, realizing she was still on the couch in Liz's hotel room. She looked around, scanning the room. Ruby and Weiss were passed out on the bed, facing away from each other. Cass was sitting in the corner with Yang, sharing a pot of coffee and chatting. Liz, Boone and ED-E were nowhere to be seen.

Yang heard Blake stir, and turned to face her. "Mornin' kitty cat! Are you doing alright?"

Blake nodded and grunted in response. She looked down at her Pip-Boy, seeing it was already seven thirty AM. She input a few commands, materializing her canteen in her hand. She unscrewed the cap and took a drink, the liquid immediately snapping Blake back into reality. She walked over to where Yang and Cass were sitting, joining Yang on the couch. "Where are the others?"

Cass looked up from her coffee. "Boone spent the night up in the sniper nest, and should be coming down soon. Liz and ED-E went to talk to Manny and get a few supplies before we leave."

Yang threw an arm around Blake's shoulder, leaning in closer to the raven-haired girl. "How'd the talk with Boone go last night?"

Blake attempted to wriggle free, but quickly realized the blonde had an iron grip on her. "It went alright. We discussed yesterday's… event, and he helped me come to the conclusion that I did the right thing. How about you guys? I assume you had something to do with that little rocket show last night."

Yang laughed to herself, apparently remembering something involving the previous day's events. "Yeah, that may have been Ice Queen, Liz and I's doing. Nothing a few rocket parts, some nuclear fuel, and a roll of duct tape can't fix. How about you, Cass? Did you manage to calm Ruby down yesterday? We got home and the two of you were already passed out."

Cass nodded. "I managed to calm her down enough to talk. We went for a quick walk, but got… sidetracked by a couple of legionnaires. I killed one, but your sister was forced to take the other one out to save my ass."Yang covered her mouth with her hand, shocked. The image of Ruby, her innocent baby sister, being forced to… _kill_ …

Yang's thoughts were interrupted by what sounded like a small cry coming from the bed. Yang turned her head to see Ruby slowly sitting up from her spot in bed. She looked around the room, apparently still in a daze from sleeping. The young huntress looked around the room, grinning when she saw Yang and Blake. She started to stand up, but sat back down when her gaze fell onto Cass.

 _Oh Dust…_

 _The walk…_

 _The attack..._

 _The shot…_

Ruby curled up into a ball and began rocking herself back and fourth, crying.

 _I…_

 _Did I kill him?_

 _I missed the shot…_

 _But VATS…_

 _That… person..._

 _Oh Dust! I… I…_

Ruby began to sob. She couldn't help herself. The memory of the round tearing the man's left shoulder apart; the memory of that…figure… appearing; the memory of the man's head being turned into nothing but a bloody red mist; it was all too much. Ruby began to rock herself faster, taking smaller and quicker breaths. She began to curl herself into a tighter ball, but was interrupted by a set of arms wrapping around her midsection from behind. Ruby turned to look, but stopped when she heard a calm, soft voice in her left right ear.

"Shhhh… its ok Ruby, its ok…" Yang whispered, pulling her sister in closer. "There was nothing you could've done besides what you had to."

After a few minutes of Yang whispering in her ear, Ruby began to breathe at a more manageable pace, rocking herself a bit less. Yang turned her sister around, making eye contact with the smaller girl. The girls stared into each other's eyes, and Ruby's thoughts immediately became calm. Yang pulled Ruby into a hug, burying her sister's face into her shoulder.

Blake thought for a moment, and then had an idea. _'Maybe Boone's talk will help calm Ruby down.'_ Blake walked over to the sisters, and tapped Ruby on the shoulder. Ruby pulled out of the hug and looked up at Blake, who only motioned for Ruby to follow her. "Come on, let's go for a walk." The young huntress looked up at Blake, confused slightly, before standing up and following her out of the hotel room.

Yang looked over at Cass, a concerned expression forming on her face. "What happened yesterday?"

Cass sighed, and went into an explanation of the previous day's events, from helping calm Ruby down, to going for a walk, to the legionnaire ambush. When she got to the part about Ruby taking the shot, she faltered. "There… there was a gunshot, and the next thing I knew, the man's head was gone. The strange thing was… it sure as hell didn't sound like a rifle shot. There was a bright flash, and it almost sounded like a magnum shot, point blank against the man's face, not coming from that oversized cannon you trust your sister with."

Yang was confused by the woman's description of the moment, but dismissed it as either the panic of the moment, or the cowgirl's drunkenness. She leaned in and gave Cass a hug. "Thanks for the help. I don't think I would've been able to calm her down."

"No problem blondie. Just being a friend." Cass reached to ruffle Yang's hair, but the blonde grabbed the redhead by the wrist and had pinned her on the floor in less than a second.

"DO NOT touch my hair. Got it?" Yang said firmly, looking the ex-caravan boss in the eyes.

"ALRIGHT! I won't touch that _glorious mane_ of yours, your highness." Cass responded sarcastically. Yang helped the woman up off of the floor. Cass turned and threw a punch, catching Yang in the arm.

Yang laughed. "Ha, that's cute." Yang threw a punch back at Cass, hitting her square in the chest and throwing her backwards over the bed. "Now that, cowgirl, is how you throw a punch." Yang ran around the bed and pulled Cass up by the collar. "You alright?"

Cass threw a glare at the blonde, and then began laughing. "Yeah, I'm ok. Nothin' a bit o' whisky can't help. How the hell did you punch that hard?"

Yang chuckled. _She thought that was hard?_ "I don't know… I'm just used to hand to hand combat."

"Well remind me not to piss you off." Cass responded, grabbing a bottle of whisky and taking a swig. She offered the bottle to Yang, who waved it away. Cass shrugged, and took another gulp. The duo packed their equipment, set a pre-war alarm clock to wake up Weiss, and headed out the door.

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An hour later, the group had left Novac and was already north of the power plant Ruby and Cass had seen the day before. Liz turned to face the group, coughing to get their attention. "Alright, here's the plan. Boone, ED-E and I need to head to Boulder City for some personal business. The rest of you should head north to the 188 Trading Post and wait for us there. Any questions?"

Yang sarcastically put her hand up like a child in school. "Why do you need to go to Boulder City alone? Why can't we all just head that way?"

Liz walked up to the brawler and leaned in to whisper into her ear. "Because the man who left me for dead in Goodsprings cemetery may be there and I don't think any of you are quite old enough to see what I plan to do to the motherfucker once I get my hands on him. Got it?"

Yang nodded, not wishing to get on the woman's bad side. She didn't look like much from a glance, but Yang could tell this woman was just as strong as her, if not stronger. Something about those eyes… they weren't the warm, friendly lavender that Yang's were, but a deep, cold purple. Just by looking into those eyes, Yang could tell this woman had seen and done some things nobody should ever need to see or do.

"Alright. We'll meet you all at the 188 by noon. Cass, keep them alive please." Liz said, throwing a sarcastic grin at Cass.

"I'll do my best, but if a Deathclaw attacks, the first one on the menu is the Ice Queen!" Cass replied.

"Hey! Yang I can handle, but I'm not walking across a desert with two of you calling me that!"

Yang walked up behind the irritated teen, patting her on the shoulder. "Damn Ice Queen, why don't you _cool down_ a bit?"

The entire group groaned in unison.

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Another hour later, Cass and team RWBY arrived at the trading post. The post was built up around a pre-war highway overpass, consisting of two bridges going over a lower road. On one of the bridges sat a large truck, a woman in army fatigues sitting on the tailgate cleaning a rifle. One side of the overpass was taken up by a couple of tents bearing the NCR flag, an abandoned trailer, and a scrap metal shack that seemed to have been turned into a bar. Under the overpass was another truck, this one filled to the brim with crates of ammo and weapons, with a sour looking man and a pair of mercenaries guarding it.

The group split up; Cass, Blake and Ruby went under the overpass to see the truck full of weapons, and Weiss and Yang walked up to the bar, sitting down on mismatched stools. A man walked up to the duo from behind the bar. "Welcome to the 188! My name's Samuel. What can I get for you today?"

Before either girl could ask for their drink of choice, a voice spoke up from behind them. "Three Dirty Wastelanders please, hold the ice."

Yang and Weiss turned to see the owner of the voice. In front of them stood a woman, wearing a set of tattered robes, smiling. She was a bit shorter than Yang, but had the same build as the taller blonde. Her robe covered her hair, but Yang could see her eyes were a deep, warm brown. The woman sat down next to Yang. "No offence, but you girls look like you've been through hell and back. Where are you coming from?"

Yang looked at the woman and smiled. "A Bullh… A Vertibird crash."

The woman looked surprised. "Well in that case, you two look pretty good, given the situation. Well, welcome then. I'm Veronica."

Yang nodded. "I'm Yang. That's Ice Queen."

"Hey!"

"Ugh, fine. That's Weiss."

Veronica laughed at the duo's bickering. The bartender returned, putting three drinks on the bar. Yang moved to pay for the liquor, but Veronica put her hand out and stopped her, placing a bag of caps on the bar. "It's the least I can do for a first impression. Now, what dragged you to this little piece of nowhere?"

Yang told Veronica their story, everything from the initial crash to the REPCONN event. As she wrapped up, Veronica finished her drink. "Damn, that's one hell of a tale. Wanna arm wrestle?"

Yang was surprised at the woman's straightforwardness, but decided to play along. She put her arm up on the bar. "Ready when you are, sunshine."

Veronica grinned. "Alright, if you're game." She pulled her arm out from inside of her robe, revealing it to be encased in a massive metal gauntlet. On top of the glove was a massive hydraulic piston, apparently meant to boost the damage of a punch.

Yang's jaw dropped. "…shit."

Veronica put her arm up on the bar, wrapping her massive hand around Yang's. "We go on three, ok?" Yang nodded hesitantly. "Alright; One… Two… Three!"

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Blake, Cass and Ruby approached the truckload of weapons. Ruby stepped forward, watching as the man who apparently owned the truck incorrectly attempted to mount a scope on a rifle. "Hello there sir! May I ask what you have in stock?"

The man looked up from his work, throwing a disgusted look at the girl. "Beat it kid, I only sell to professionals."

"Well then, if you sell to pros, you would realize most people don't like buying a rifle that has the scope mounted on backwards." Ruby responded.

The man looked down at the rifle, mumbling angrily at the fact that the girl was right. "Alright kid, you apparently know your stuff. You can see what I have here, but there is a better selection back at Gun Runners over in Vegas."

Ruby reached for an interesting looking rifle sitting in a crate. The weapon looked like a standard SMG, but a closer examination revealed it to apparently be an energy weapon. There was a slot for an energy cell, which apparently sent power through a spinning section where the SMG's ammo drum would normally go. Ruby decided to see what it could do, and grabbed a box of energy cells to go with it.

In the next crate, Ruby found what appeared to be a set of brass knuckles, only these had spikes protruding from the knuckles. _'Yang would love these'_ Ruby thought as she added the knuckles to her pile. Under another crate, Ruby found a 10mm pistol, only this one was heavily modified. The sight was replaced with a reflex scope, the clip was extended, and there was a silencer mounted on the barrel. Ruby added this, along with a box of 10mm ammo, to the pile.

"Blake, toss me your pistol." Ruby yelled to her teammate. Blake complied, tossing the 9mm handgun to Ruby. Ruby placed the pistol in front of the man. "How much do I owe you for the weapons?"

The man took the handgun, observing it. He then looked at the pile of weapons the young girl was buying. "Ha! That's adorable. Even with this piece of scrap to trade in, that pile costs you a solid thousand caps! There's no way a little girl like you could…"

Ruby input a command on her Pip-Boy, materializing a sack of a thousand caps in the man's hand, next to Blake's old handgun. "Have a nice day!"

Ruby walked away from the shocked man, approaching Blake and Cass. "Here you go, Blake. You were due for an upgrade." Ruby handed the 10mm to Blake, along with the ammo.

Blake weighed the pistol in her hand, satisfied by the feel of the weapon. "Thanks Ruby. Let's just hope I don't need to use it again."

Ruby nodded. "Alright, let's go see how Yang and Weiss are doi…" Before Ruby could finish, she was interrupted by a massive _crash_ ahead of her. The group looked up to see Yang and a woman in a robe, fighting like there was no tomorrow.

Yang dodged one of Veronica's punches, the _hiss_ of the fist's hydraulic piston sounding mere inches from her face. Yang ducked low, moving in with an uppercut. Veronica saw the blow coming and jumped backwards, jabbing with her fist as she did so. The blow caught Yang in the chest, throwing her back a few feet.

Yang regained her balance just in time to block another one of Veronica's punches. Yang ducked below another blow, bluffing a move for an uppercut. Veronica blocked in response, but was caught off guard when Yang grabbed her gauntlet and ripped it off of her arm. _'Gotcha bitch!'_ Yang smirked as she swung her fist, the right hook catching Veronica in the jaw.

Blake took aim with her new pistol, waiting to see what this newcomer was planning on doing. The woman slowly approached Yang, who still had her fists up in a defensive position, before laughing and pulling the blonde brawler into a hug. "You have no idea how long it's been since I had a sparring match like that! That was fucking amazing!"

Yang laughed along, patting Veronica on the back. "Now that was a fight! Read for round two?"

Veronica pulled out of the hug, shaking her head. "No, not right now. Care to introduce me to your friends?" Veronica walked past Yang, bumping her hip to Yang's in the process, and approached Blake. "Calm down, beautiful! We were just sparring a bit, no need to keep aiming that thing at me! The name's Veronica."

Blake lowered her pistol, realizing this 'Veronica' was friendly. She reached her hand out to shake V's. "Hello. I'm Blake, this is Ruby and Cass."

Veronica shook Blake's hand vigorously. "It's nice to meet you!"

As Veronica went around greeting the others, Weiss made her way under the overpass. Ruby saw her, and quickly approached the white-haired teen. "Weiss! I got you something!" Ruby pulled out the odd SMG and tossed it to Weiss. Weiss took the weapon, looking it over. She loaded an energy cell into it and took aim at a bush a few meters away from the overpass. She pulled the trigger.

Instantly, a spray of red beams flew from the weapon's barrel. The bush was engulfed in flame, incinerated within mere seconds. Weiss looked down at the weapon, wide-eyed in shock. She grinned evilly, then stored the weapon in her Pip-Boy. Suddenly, a voice called out from behind the group. "Alright, who the hell decided to trust Weiss with an RCW?"

The group turned, surprised to see Liz standing a few feet away, bone and ED-E behind her. Liz had apparently obtained a new bandana, and was wearing it on her forehead. She approached the group, arms open wide. Ruby immediately ran up, giving the woman a hug. "Yay, you made it! How did that business in Boulder City go?"

Liz scowled for a moment, apparently remembering something negative happening while she was away. "The person I'm looking for wasn't there, but should be in New Vegas. Let's get what we need, and then if we hurry we can make it to The Strip before dark."

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Twenty minutes later, the group was ready to move out again. As the party was departing, Veronica walked up to Yang, smile on her face. "Care if I come along?"

Yang looked at Veronica. "Why the hell would you want to join our little band of freaks?"

Veronica looked Yang in the eyes. "You are one of the first people I've seen who I can tell can really take care of themselves out here. There are places out here that would be too dangerous for just me, and I just want to have a bit of an adventure. What do you think? We both could benefit from traveling together." With that last sentence, Veronica threw Yang a sly wink.

Yang immediately nodded. "I see no problem with it. Just ask Liz first, she's the ringleader in this little chaotic circus."

Liz threw Yang a thumb up without even looking up from tying her boot. "I have no problem with it; just make sure she doesn't kill any of us."

Veronica squealed in excitement. "Then let's get this crazy train running. Next stop: Vegas baby!"

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 _AN_ _: Alright, that was a fun chapter. Thanks again for reading, I hope you liked it. On a side note, the poll for what faction ending to eliminate from this story is still up for another week, and I hope you could take your time to vote. I want to get a broad idea of what readers want for this story. Now, time for review responses!_

 _Blaiseingfire:_ _Yup, snipers tend to become friends quickly. Just don't expect it to become a pairing between the two._

 _Cole Tyger:_ _Hello again! Glad you liked the chapter, and thanks for reading!_

 _Well, that's all for now. I hope you all liked the chapter, and feel free to review, favorite, and follow! Have an amazing day Readers!_

 _-DovahCouier_


	8. Chapter 8 - Vegas Baby!

_AN_ _: Hello again Readers, DovahCourier here! This is a smaller chapter I managed to pop out over the weekend while Mother Nature decided to be a bitch for a couple days (Yay, Denver weather!) It is mostly fun and filler, but I hope it's still up to par with my other chapters!_

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 _I do not own RWBY or Fallout: New Vegas. RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth and New Vegas belongs to Obsidian Entertainment/Bethesda._

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 **The Tale of Dust and Sand**

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Eight: Vegas Baby!

It was five in the afternoon when the Vegas skyline came into view. Ruby looked at the distant city, and was shocked at how amazing the sight was. _'Now that… is a big city.'_ There were dozens of buildings, most of them covered in bright neon lights. The most prominent of all of the sights was a massive spire, reaching over twice the height of the second largest building. The spire's top was built like a massive roulette wheel, looking over the gambler's oasis that was New Vegas.

The group began to head for the city's gate, passing ruins of pre-war suburbs and a large NCR farm. The group reached the city's eastern gate, and prepared to head under the large archway built out of miscellaneous neon signs to spell out _'FREESIDE'_ , but was interrupted by Ruby squealing from joy. The group turned to see Ruby staring, drooling and starry eyed, at a smaller building. The others walked over, and were immediately scared for their lives when they saw Ruby had discovered the _Gun Runners_ shop.

Ruby walked up to the kiosk, entranced by the weapons on display. There were shotguns, SMGs, rocket launchers, assault carbines, .50 Cal snipers, marksman carbines, combat armor, and hundreds of other pieces of joy-causing equipment. Ruby was lost in thought. _'Wow, they even have a robot for sale! How cool is th…'_

 _"Hello there! Welcome to the Gun Runners!"_

Ruby yelled in surprise and jumped backwards. _'Ok, so the robot isn't for sale.'_ Ruby stepped forward again. "Hello there. What do you have for sale here?"

The robot shuffled sideways a bit. _"The terminal to your right has the entire line of our arsenal stored on its database, along with a few antiques we have obtained. All weapons are hand produced on site at the factory behind me. Please contact me when you are ready for a transaction."_

Ruby stepped up to the terminal, excited to see what the place had in store. She started scrolling through the catalogue, getting more and more excited as she went. "Guys, get over here!"

The other members of team RWBY approached their gun-obsessed team leader. Ruby was about to flip to the next page of the database, but was suddenly distracted by a gun on the bottom of the page. "Bozar… a 5.56 LMG modified for long range… HEY BOONE! YOU OWE ME A NUKA!"

Yang grabbed Ruby by the cloak, attempting to pull her away from the console. "Ruby, we need to get to McCarran! We have a job, remember!"

"But Yang… weapons are like people… but better!"

"I don't care Ru…"

"I wonder what a ' _ballistic fist'_ is."

"SAYWHATNOW!?" Yang threw Ruby out of the way, staring at the screen. On the screen was the most beautiful weapon Yang had seen in a long time. It consisted of a gauntlet, less bulky than Veronica's, with a pressure plate mounted to the knuckles. Attached to the back of the glove was a large double barrel shotgun, wires running from where the trigger would be to the plate on the fist. _'Damn… looks a lot like Ember Celica's early design. What I wouldn't do to have that beauty...'_ Yang looked over to Ruby, who Veronica had managed to catch after being thrown like a sack of potatoes. "How many caps do you have?!"

Ruby checked her Pip-Boy. "About 1200, give or take. Why?"

Yang looked at the robot in the kiosk. "Hey tin can, how much for the Ballistic Fist?"

The robot froze for a moment, making electronic noises while it apparently calculated something. _"Ballistic Fist: 15000 caps."_

Yang's shoulders sagged, realizing the only way she would even have a chance of buying that thing would be by selling every belonging the group had… twice. She sighed, and walked away from the kiosk and towards the gate with the others. _'I'll be back for you later.'_

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Weiss walked through the gate, and was greeted by the glorious view of… a slum. _'From the way everyone's been describing the place, I expected something closer to those gambling towns in Vaccuo that Atlesians visit on vacation. This place looks worse than Mountain Glenn!'_ Weiss was immediately bombarded with dozens of smells and sounds, none of which were pleasant.

Cass turned to face the group. "Welcome to Freeside! Watch your pockets."

Everyone immediately checked their pockets, making sure nobody was trying to lighten their load without permission. The group continued on, heading through the streets of the slum neighborhood. Weiss had drifted to the back of the group, so nobody but her noticed when a man called out from behind a corner. "Hey doll, wanna buy some jet?"

Weiss turned to the source of the voice, confused. She saw a man standing in an alley, covered in dirt and grime, beckoning her over. Hesitantly, Weiss walked towards the man. Once close enough, the man opened his coat, revealing pockets full of inhalers, pill containers and syringes. "Want some jet? Only five caps for your first hit."

"What exactly is it?" Weiss asked, refusing to admit to herself that she was indeed interested.

"You don't know what a chem is? It's just a pre-war medicine. Hell, jet was given to kids to relieve lung troubles. Come on, just a few caps for your first hit…"

Weiss considered it for a moment, before nodding and giving the man the caps. _'Might as well try it… this desert air has been screwing with me a bit.'_ The man handed Weiss an inhaler from his pocket. She raised the device to her lips, and prepared to depress the canister of medicine, when someone came up behind her and grabbed the inhaler, ripping it out of Weiss' hand.

Weiss turned around to see Liz standing behind her, crushing the inhaler in her palm, a look of pure fury on her face. She stepped around Weiss and grabbed the man by the collar, lifting him off of his feet and pinning him to a wall. "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE LIKE YOU! TRICKING AN INNOCENT GIRL INTO BUYING CHEMS? I should shoot you in the balls right here, right now, but I'm in a merciful mood. You will leave town, and take all of your… _poison_ with you, or I will make you wish you were already dead. DO YOU FUCKING UNDERSTAND?"

The man nodded, obviously terrified. Liz forced the now broken inhaler into his pocket and threw him down the alley. She then turned to face Weiss, and slapped her across the face. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!?"

Weiss put a hand up to her cheek, shocked by the older woman's action. "What's wrong? It's just a bit of pre-war medicine, like a stimp…"

Liz laughed. "You actually _bought_ that bullshit! Jet sure as hell is not medicine! It's the fumes from fermented Brahman shit! Jet, mentats, psycho, hydra… these are fucking dangerous. Unless you want to die alone, curled up in a ball in some pre-war ruin, too weak to fight off the mutants ripping you apart, I suggest you stay away from chems. Got it?"

Weiss nodded, embarrassed. _'How the hell did I fall for that stupid sales pitch? I should've known it was a drug deal. I am such an idi…'_ Weiss' thought process was interrupted by Liz patting Weiss' back. "Don't beat yourself up. It was an honest mistake, just don't do it again, ok?"

Weiss hugged Liz. "Thanks."

"No problem. Now let's catch up with the others, we have some business to handle on the Strip."

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Weiss and Liz caught up with the others as they reached the gate separating the Strip and Freeside. Weiss could see from where they were that there were at least half a dozen robots guarding the gate. Unlike the simple bots the team had encountered in Primm and at Gun Runners, these were obviously meant for defense. The robots were at least six feet tall, balancing on a single heavy duty wheel. The robot's 'shoulders' obviously had the mechanical capability to open up and reveal what Weiss assumed to be a weapon. The robot's 'face' was a television screen, showing a cartoon rendering of the face of a police officer.

 _"Please submit to minimum credit check."_ The robot in front said in an authoritative tone. Liz input a few commands on her Pip-Boy, a large bundle of NCR money appearing in her hand. The robot 'looked' at the bundle, than back up to Liz. _"Five thousand caps worth of NCR cash detected. Head on through."_

Liz walked past the robot, heated towards the gate. The rest of the group started to follow her, but the robot put its hand up to stop them. _'Please submit to minimum credit check.'_ The others groaned, taking their funds out and holding their hands out for the robot to scan. _"Minimum finding needed: 3000 caps. Please back away now. I am permitted to use deadly force an all who do not comply. Repeat, will you comply?"_

Yang had an idea that brought an evil grin to her face. She stepped forward, speaking up in her best sarcastic robot voice. "Will you comply?"

 _"Repeat, will you comply?"_

"Will you comply?"

 _"Repeat, will you comply?"_

"Will you comply?"

 _"Repeat, will you comply?"_

"Will you comply?"

 _"Repeat, will… Memory overflow detected; system reset… Welcome to Vegas! Please, have a nice day."_ The robot rolled out of the way, allowing the group to head through. Everyone stared at Yang, shocked.

Liz spoke up. "How did you know that would work?"

Yang laughed, passing her and walking through the gate. "I didn't."

Ruby was immediately entranced by the sight before her. Compared to Freeside, the Strip was a completely different world; the buildings were intact and alive with gamblers and lights, the people in the streets were lively, going from casino to casino, and there was music blasting from every casino's speakers. Yang came up behind Ruby, patting her on the shoulder. "Now _this_ is how I pictured Vegas!" Ruby nodded, still amazed by the scene in front of her.

Liz spoke up. "Alright, we made it. You girls go handle your business at McCarran, I'll go see to some personal business over at The Tops. Meet up back here at, say, eight?"

Team RWBY nodded, and started making their way down the strip. They made it about three steps before Yang turned around, remembering something important. "Where the hell is Camp McCarran?"

Boone groaned, then pointed to a building in the distance. "See that monorail station? Show the guard your package, and you should be able to take the train straight to the camp." The team thanked the man, and headed over to the station.

Ten minutes later, the group arrived at camp McCarran. Blake looked around, realizing the facility was originally some form of airport. The old runway was covered in dozens of tents, obviously the trooper barracks, with a few trucks loaded with military supplies parked at a depot in the corner. The team walked from the monorail station to the main door to the terminal, and walked in.

Once inside, the team was greeted by a much more… excited scene. There were NCR personnel, both field troops and non-combat officers, bustling around the airport, all in an apparent hurry. _'Wow, the world's ended and airports are STILL a damn nightmare'_ Blake thought to herself as she gripped onto Yang's arm tightly.

"You alright, Kitty Cat?" Yang asked, confused at how tense Blake was.

"It's nothing… I just don't do airports very well." Blake answered vaguely, not wanting to remember some of the White Fang attacks she had witnessed during her time with the group.

Yang nodded, then turned to face Ruby. "I'm going to take Blake here back to the Strip before she claws my arm off. We'll meet you guys at eight." With that, the duo turned around, headed back to the monorail station.

Ruby walked up to a nearby soldier, a man wearing a set of army fatigues and a green beret. She tapped the man on the shoulder. He turned around, looking around for a moment before his gaze drifted downwards and met that of the small girl in front of him. "Hello young lady. How can I help you?"

"Yes, hello. My friend and I are here with a package from the Mojave Express. I was wondering if you could point us towards Colonel James Hsu for delivery."

The man chuckled, putting his hand out to shake Ruby's. "You're speaking to him. James Hsu, NCR. Nice to meet you, miss…"

"Rose, Ruby Rose. This is my associate, Weiss Schnee." Ruby responded, surprised by her luck. She reciprocated the man's handshake, apparently startling him with her grip strength.

"Alright. Miss Rose, Miss Schnee, if you would please follow me to my office, we can complete your delivery." The man guided the two through the airport, leading them into an office towards the back of the facility. The man sat down at his desk, gesturing at a pair of chairs across from him as he did so. "Please, take a seat."

Ruby and Weiss sat down, ready for business. Ruby input a few commands on her Pip, materializing the holotape in her hand. Hsu reached below the desk, pulling out a large wad of NCR cash and… _'Is that a snow globe?'_ "Thanks again for the help. The NCR has had a distinct lack of couriers in the Mojave thanks to the Legion threat. Now, if you would just hand over the holotape, we can finish the deal."

As Ruby handed the man the holotape, Weiss grabbed the bundle of cash and the snow globe. The duo stood up, thanked the man, and walked out of the office. Weiss counted out the money, giving a quarter of it to Ruby, along with the snow globe. Ruby quickly pocketed the cash and the trinket, following Weiss to the monorail back to the strip.

Once back on the strip, Weiss checked her Pip-Boy and saw it was already seven fifty-five. She grabbed Ruby by the collar, dragging her away from a casino called 'The Ultra-Luxe'. They reached the gate separating Freeside and the Strip, where Blake and Yang were already waiting. Yang had a stupidly large grin on her face, and Blake just looked embarrassed. Weiss walked up to Blake, slightly confused by the team's brawler. 'What happened to Yang?"

"All I'm gonna say is DO NOT let Ruby into the Gomorrah, unless you're in the mood to explain a LOT of new concepts to her." Blake responded, blushing hard enough to put Ruby's cloak to shame. Weiss was confused, but followed Blake's gaze towards the casino in question. One brief look at the building answered every question Weiss had involving the situation.

The group sat there for a minute, chatting among themselves waiting for the others to return. Ten minutes later, Ruby saw Liz and the others walk out of The Tops. She ran up to Liz, but immediately slowed down when she saw the expression on the woman's face. Ruby was used to seeing people angry, as she had grown up with Yang, but even from a distance she could tell Liz was pissed beyond anything Ruby had seen before. Ruby slowly walked up to the woman, worried. "Liz, what happened?"

"THE MOTHERFUCKER GOT AWAY! I HAD HIM IN MY FUCKING GRASP, AND HE ESCAPED!" Liz screamed, not realizing who she was talking to. Ruby recoiled in shock and began crying. Liz realized what she had done, and leaned down, pulling the girl into a hug. "Ruby… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…"

"No, it's ok. I understand people can get angry sometimes." Ruby pulled out of the hug, patting Liz on the shoulder as she did. The two started walking towards where the others were waiting at the gate, but were interrupted by a securitron rolling up in front of them. The only difference between this one and the gatekeeper was the fact that this one had a cartoon cowboy for a face instead of a police officer.

"Howdy, partner! Liz, I believe you said you were going to come see Mr. House before you leave the strip."

"Fuckin hell Victor… Aw fine, I'll come see the recluse. Ruby, tell the others to go ahead and find a room at one of the hotels, I'll catch up with you later." Ruby began to walk towards the others, but was once again stopped by Victor.

"Not so fast, partner! The boss man requested to see you too, Miss Rose."

Ruby looked at the robot, confused. "What would some billionaire want with _me_?"

"The boss-man didn't say anything but to send you two up into the 38. Your other friend's 'll have to stay outside." The robot continued.

Ruby walked over to Yang and explained the situation. She looked at the robot suspiciously, but nodded. "Just stay next to Liz, and you should be OK. We'll wait for you guys out here."

Ruby and Liz followed Victor up to the front door of the Lucky 38, and followed him inside. Once inside, the robot ushered the duo straight to an elevator, leaving no time to investigate the lobby. Once on the elevator, victor pressed a button on the panel and rolled back out of the elevator into the lobby.

A short ride later, and the elevator arrived on the target floor. Ruby stepped out, and was greeted by another securitron, _'How many of these things does this guy have?'_ She thought to herself as she observed the new robot. This one's face was the equivalent of a female movie star, with everything from the hair to the makeup done perfectly. "Hello there, shugga! House is waiting for y'all in the next room." The robot gestured towards a curtain to the left, then rolled away. Liz walked towards the curtain, Ruby right on her tail,

Once through the curtain the two were greeted by large room. There was a set of stairs leading down from the level they were on onto a more open lower level. The windows that were in view allowed for a shocking view of Vegas and the surrounding area for miles. In the center of the room was a massive monitor, flanked on both sides by two more security bots.

As the duo began to walk down the stairs, the screen snapped from a 'Connection Lost' message to the image of a man. The man was obviously wealthy, that was easily shown by his well trimmed hair (facial and head), his sly 'I could buy everyone in the room a car if I wanted, but I'm not in the mood' expression, and the suit that looked like it cost more than the _Ballistic Fist_ had. "Hello! Welcome to my humble abode. I am Robert House."

Liz stepped forward, a stoic expression on her face. "Hello sir. Glad to finally meet the reclusive puppet-master behind all of Vegas' glory."

"I will ignore the sarcasm and take that as a compliment. Now, Miss Liz, I would like to ask you something; Where is my platinum chip?" With that question, the man's tone switched from joyful to venomous.

"That backstabber Benny managed to escape with it." Liz responded, anger forming in her voice.

"Yes, I know that, Courier. For someone so invincible, you are surprisingly thick skulled. I have just received word that Benny was caught by Caesar's lapdogs, and is currently sitting at the Legion's Fort; right on top of where the platinum chip is needed to upgrade my securitrons. Now, if you wish to complete your contract, I suggest you get that chip back, and get to the weather sensor station in the fort." Liz nodded, holding her anger back by biting down on her lip.

"Now, Miss Rose. You and your friend's current... situation is a very interesting one. You come out of nowhere, crashing in an unknown model of vertibird, and end up allying yourselves with possibly the most interesting group of misfits in the Mojave! If I may ask, why are you staying here and not trying to find your way back to wherever you crashed from?"

Ruby considered the question for a moment before answering. "The place we are from is too far away to reach again. We decided if we can't make it home, we might as well help those in need here in the Mojave. It is our duty." Ruby did her best to stay vague, not wanting to reveal the team's actual point of origin to the odd man. To keep herself busy, Ruby pulled the snow globe out of her pocket, tossing it from hand to hand.

"An honorable cause. I would like to continue by sayi... Is that a snowglobe?" House's neutral tone suddenly shifted to one of amazement, like a child being given a gift.

Ruby looked at the monitor, confused by the man's sudden enthusiasm. "Yes it is... Why do you ask?"

"I just have a thing for pre-war knick-knacks like that. Here, if you would please hand it to my associate Jane, I will gladly pay you two thousand caps for the item."

Ruby and Liz's eyes might as well have popped out of their skulls. Liz quickly input a few commands on her Pip-Boy, materializing another snow globe in her hand. House spoke up again. "Oh, what a pleasant surprise! I could give you each caps for these, or if you would head into the elevator behind you, I believe I may have a worthwhile alternative." Ruby and Liz looked at each other, wordlessly agreeing 'no harm, no foul', and walked towards the elevator.

After the ride, Liz and Ruby stepped out into a large, dark room. A sudden crackle emitted from an intercom next to the two. Mr. House's voice emitted from the speaker. _"You both can either choose one from the left, or two from the right. And please, don't scratch the paint."_ With that, the lights in the room came on, leaving Liz and Ruby in a state of utter shock.

On the left was a row of pre-war automobiles, all in pristine condition. To the right, a row of twice as many Pre-War motorcycles, in just as good a condition. Liz and Ruby immediately split up; Liz darting for a dark purple convertible, Ruby walking over to the bikes.

Ruby stopped next to a motorcycle, painted the same color as her cloak, with white leather seat and handlebars. The bike had a sidecar, also bright red with a white leather interior. A securitron with House's face rolled up next to Ruby. _"Ah yes, the 2078 Lone Wanderer. The pride and joy of the Corvega motorcycle line, released only three days before the bombs fell. She can run off of a single fusion core for about three hundred years, so don't sweat refueling the girl. I... can see you're already drooling, so I'll just go ahead and tell you the keys are under the passenger seat, along with four helmets. Now, go ahead and chose another while I have a Mr. Handy get this one ready."_

Ruby kept walking down the line, not seeing anything interesting, when a tarp at the end of the row caught her eye. She pulled it away, revealing another bike. _'Wow... Yang would freakin love this thing.'_ The bike was a chopper, reaching longer than Ruby was tall with handlebars reaching up to her chest level. It was a golden-yellow, with jet black leather covering the seat, handlebars and saddlebags. The word _'Stinger'_ written in jet black cursive along the 'fuel' tank. The securitron rolled up behind Ruby once more. _"Ah yes, the 2055 Chryslus Stinger. One of only three ever built, the other two were lost in a stunt show when one of the drivers misinterpreted his partner yelling 'go left' as 'do a trick' and they slammed into each other at the bike's max speed of 250mph."_

Ruby winced at the fate of the other bikes, but immediately forgot about it when she heard the bike's max speed. _'250mph! Yang owes me big time for this.'_ Ruby nodded, signaling she had made her choice. _"Good choices. Now, if you would like to get in the elevator, I have sent a robot to collect your friends outside and bring them up to the Presidential Suite. You are all welcome to use it as a home of sorts while you are in the Mojave."_

Ruby nodded and thanked the man, heading back towards the elevator. Liz was already waiting there for her. "Which ones did you choose, Rubes?"

"The Red and White _Wanderer,_ and the Yellow and Black _Stinger_ in the back." Ruby responded, almost proud of herself. "What about you?"

Liz nodded her head in the direction of a dark purple convertible. "The 2075 Corvega _Whiplash_."

"Nice choice! Headed up to the suite?"

"Yeah, going to get a bit of sleep before I lighten my pockets over at Gun Runners tomorrow." Liz responded, yawning. The duo got into the elevator, and headed upstairs to se their new suite.

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 _AN_ _: Well, that was a quick chapter. Sorry if it was uneventful, it was mostly a filler one I ended up writing while waiting for the snow to calm down outside over the weekend. I am posting this chapter a bit early because I have a test almost every day this week at school, and might not have the energy to get one done in time for Saturday. Now, for a few review responses:_

 _Unzealots_ _: Thanks for giving the story a chance, and I'm glad you like it! (For future reference, I am a sir) On the Cass/Ruby and Boone/Blake thing: Yeah, it took me and my Beta Reader about three hours to get the interactions and character choices right, so I'm glad our effort paid off!_

 _Shaneman17_ _: I hope I did Ruby's reaction to the GR shop well in this chapter. On the note of the plot idea; it makes a lot of sense, but I have a plan in the works for what to do with the team after the battle for the dam. Not saying anything here, but it will be glorious._

 _Captaindicksucker_ _: While the Rad-Away theory might work, I think the earth in the Fallout universe has become so irradiated that even a hazmat suit wouldn't cancel out the radiation's effects on Aura. I do have a few ideas in the works that should balance out the loss of semblance/aura, so just hold on and see if it ends well. As for the not-serious question, you just gave me an amazing idea *_ _ **evil grin**_ _*! Thanks again for reading!_

 _Allard-Liao_ _: I hope I had Yang react well to the ballistic fist at the GR store. Thanks for reading!_

 _Well Readers, that's all for now. Remember, the poll on my author page for what faction ending to eliminate is open until Saturday, so vote if you can please! Have an amazing day!_

 _-DovahCourier_


	9. Chapter 9 - Killing Time

_AN_ _: Hello again Readers, DovahCourier here! Only a couple of things to say before the chapter; First, some teachers at my school are just evil: "I know you just finished the Practice SAT (Which took 4 HOURS STRAIGHT!), but here are two tests in a row just to fuck with you some more. Have a nice day!" Second, I have finally' repaired' my computer (turns out I accidentally unplugged the cooling fan when I last cleaned it), so I can work on this story while at home again! Well, that's enough of me bitching about life; let's get back to the story, shall we?_

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 _I do not own RWBY or Fallout: New Vegas. RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth and New Vegas belongs to Obsidian Entertainment/Bethesda._

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 **The Tale of Dust and Sand**

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Nine: Killing Time

Ruby slowly drifted awake. She looked around, confused by her surroundings for a moment before remembering where she was. _'Oh yeah, the Lucky 38…'_ She pulled herself out of the king sized bed, and was surprised to see Weiss' equipment lying scattered on the other side of the massive mattress. _'Must not be enough rooms in the suite for everybody…'_ Ruby pulled her Jumpsuit and Pip-Boy on over her underclothes, buttoned her cloak at her neck, and walked into the hallway.

On the way to the kitchen, Ruby counted the rooms in the suite. _'Four bedrooms in total... Blake and Yang obviously took one, Weiss is apparently bunking with me, Veronica and Cass must be in the one with Cass' hat on the doorknob, and Liz probably took the master room. That leaves Boone, who must be…'_

"Good morning Ruby."

Ruby jumped, surprised by Boone's voice coming from below her. _'Wait, what?'_ Ruby looked down, seeing Boone had apparently set up a bedroll in the living room. "Mornin Boone."

The grizzled sniper got up off the floor, following Ruby to the kitchen. Ruby walked into the kitchen, noticing everybody but her and Boone had already woken up. Liz was leaning over the table, looking over a map of the Mojave. She had stabbed a knife through a location on the eastern half of the river, the blade going deep enough to be visible from under the table. She turned her head, noticing Ruby and Boone. "Good morning. Care to join us?"

The two nodded and joined the others, Ruby stopping between Weiss and Yang, Boone heading to a corner to pour some coffee. Liz began speaking. "Alright. As I was saying, Benny and the Platinum Chip are currently at The Fort..." She gestured towards the knife sticking through the table. "Normally, trying to get someone out of there would be suicide, but Caesar has granted me an audience." She tossed a small, bronze amulet onto the table. Ruby looked closer, noticing the trinket had a bull engraved on its face. "Now, we are certainly not ready to take on the Legion, and something tells me doing what house wants us to do will only end in the mighty Caesar being after our heads. So, as an alternative, we are going to take the time to get ready for an all-out war with Caesar and his lapdogs."

With this statement, Liz grinned wildly, almost as if she was fantasizing about an attack on the Legion. "I say we earn a few caps, prepare ourselves, and turn this 'audience' into an eight per..." ED-E beeped angrily. "…sorry, _nine_ person assault on the Fort. For now, I say we take a couple days off; Gamble, drink, sleep… just have fun for a few days." With that, she retrieved her knife from the table and walked out of the room, Boone in tow.

Ruby turned to face Yang. "Hey sis, I got you a present!"

Yang's face turned into a massive smile. "For me?!"

"Yes. Now close your eyes and I'll bring you to it." Ruby responded, smirking. "Blake, Weiss, you should come too." Ruby, holding Yang's eyes closed from behind, led the others to the elevator and pressed the button for the garage.

Once the doors opened again, Ruby led the team to the end of the row of bikes. "Are you ready Yang?" Yang nodded, almost vibrating with excitement. "Alright… Here you go!" Ruby removed her hands from Yang's eyes.

For a second, Yang thought she was dreaming. The motorcycle in front of her… it was _beautiful._ The golden-yellow paint job, the black leather, the engine that made her bike back home look like a go-cart… _'Holy fuck I'm in love.'_

She squealed in excitement, hugging Ruby tightly. She released her sister from the deathgrip and ran to the bike. She picked up the keys and one of the helmets sitting on the seat, and mounted the beautiful beast. She pulled the helmet on over her head, and tossed the spare one to Blake. Blake got the message, putting the helmet on and jumping onto the bike behind Yang, holding onto the blonde by the midsection. Yang turned her head to face Ruby. "Thanks sis! I owe you big time!"

"Don't worry about it! Have fun, and don't get killed!" Ruby responded, happy for her sister. Yang revved the engine, testing the bike's horsepower. As the engine roared, a large door opened at the end of the garage, revealing a ramp up to an empty stretch of road heading out of Vegas. Yang floored it, doing a quick donut in the middle of the garage before flying through the door and out into the desert.

"Well, I guess she likes the bike."

Ruby and Weiss jumped, surprised by the voice coming from behind them. They turned around, seeing that Veronica, Cass, ED-E and Liz had entered the garage behind them. The group walked (and floated) towards Liz's car. "Where are you guys going?" Ruby asked, curious.

"Boone, V, ED-E and I are going to scout out Cottonwood Cove. Cass here just wanted to see the garage." Liz responded, jumping over the door into the driver's seat. Ruby waved as the group drove away, leaving her alone with Weiss and Cass.

"You ladies wanna get outta here?" Cass asked, walking over to Ruby's _Wanderer_ and jumping into the sidecar. Weiss shrugged and walked towards the bike, but stopped when she noticed Ruby was hesitating.

"Ruby, you ok?" Weiss asked, confused.

"I... I… I don't know how to drive." Ruby responded, blushing from embarrassment.

Weiss giggled. "Well, might as well learn now. Here, jump on and I'll teach you." She threw the younger girl a helmet. Ruby caught the helmet and pulled it on, the foam lined inside forming to her head. Ruby got onto the motorcycle, gripping the handlebars with nervous hands. Weiss climbed on behind her, wrapping her arms around Ruby's midsection. "Ok, you need to slowly pull back on the throttle."

"The what?" Ruby asked, looking at the different controls in front of her.

"The right hand…"

"FOUND IT!" Ruby gunned the engine, and the bike sped out of the garage and into the desert.

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A few hours of practicing later, and Ruby was able to handle the bike without throwing everybody off of the vehicle. They were now cruising back towards Vegas, having made a lap to Novac and back in record time. Weiss leaned in so Ruby could hear her. "Alright, wanna see how fast this thing can go?" Ruby nodded and revved the engine more, redlining the _Wanderer_ at 175mph.

Weiss leaned in more, holding onto Ruby's midsection tighter to avoid falling off. She turned her head to see Cass, holding onto her hat with one hand and a bottle of moonshine in the other. _'Ah, now THIS is a motorcycle ri…'_ Weiss' train of thought was interrupted by Ruby hitting a large bump, almost sending Weiss flying.

Weiss flailed for a moment before regaining her grip on Ruby, closing her eyes to help her stomach settle. She tightened her grip, wishing to avoid any further mishaps, than realized something; _'since when have Ruby's abs been so… heavenly? So firm, yet warm and sof…'_ "Um… Weiss?" Ruby asked, snapping Weiss out of her daze.

"Yes Ruby?" Weiss responded.

"Those aren't my abs you're holding."

Weiss' eyes shot open. She followed her arm, realizing she was not gripping Ruby's midsection, but instead was holding onto the girl's…"OHMYGODI'MSOSORRY!" Weiss immediately lowered her hands, grabbing the young huntress by the midsection once more.

Weiss turned her head to the right, and saw that Cass was staring at the duo, laughing her ass off. "What the hell are you looking at, cowgirl?" Weiss asked in an offended tone.

"Nothin, just the cutest couple I've seen in a long time." Cass responded, smirking evilly.

Weiss blushed, embarrassed by the woman's comment. "What did she say?" Ruby asked, confused.

"Nothing Ruby, just keep driving." Weiss responded, throwing Cass a look that said _"Say another word, and I kick you off of the bike."_ Cass just shook her head, threw Weiss a shit eating grin, and took another swig of moonshine.

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 **A couple of hours earlier** Yang and Blake walked through the door to the _Atomic Wrangler_ in Freeside. They had made the trip from Vegas to Goodsprings and back through Sloan in about five hours, and decided to look for a bit of work while they waited for the others to get back. Yang walked up to the bar, sitting down at one of the stools. A man walked up. "Welcome to the _Wrangler_. How can I help you?"

"I was wondering if you would happen to have any spare jobs around here." Yang asked, smiling.

The man looked Yang up and down, and then grinned. "Well... one of the working girls did quit recently..."

Blake intervened before the man (or Yang) could get any ideas. "That's... not exactly the kind of work we're talking about. We mean any odd jobs that, well, let us keep our clothes on."

The man nodded. "Well, we do get the occasional customer looking for... _special_ treatment. If you were willing, I could pay you in caps to track down a few unique individuals to help with this."

Yang shrugged. "A job's a job. Whom are we tracking down exactly?"

"A dominatrix ghoul cowgirl, a smooth talkin' male escort, and a _F1ST0_ model protectron sexbot."

Yang fell off of her stool laughing. Blake bit down on her hand, trying not to laugh, blush, or both. "Alright sir, you have a deal. Yang and I will be back later, hopefully with the... colorful personalities you have mentioned. You have any idea where to start?"

"There is a ghoul I had in mind over at the old Mormon Fort, and some old bodyguard up by the gate to the Strip has a voice that could melt butter. As for the bot, I've heard there is an old robotics facility on the edge of Freeside, just past the pump the Kings control." With that, the man tossed Blake a bottle of Wine. "Here is a bit of payment up front."

Blake nodded, storing the bottle in her Pip-Boy for later. She reached to grab Yang, but the blonde had already walked away from the bar. Blake scanned the room before seeing Yang walking towards a waitress wearing... _'I think I can see more skin than fabric'_ Blake thought, immediately getting irritated at her partner. She walked over, grabbed Yang by the ear, and dragged her out of the building.

Half an hour later, the pair had found the ghoul and the escort and sent them to the _Wrangler_. Yang and Blake now stood in front of a large dilapidated building on the edge of Freeside. Over the door was a large sign reading ' _Cerulean Robotics_ '. Yang turned to face Blake. "Well, here goes nothing." She drew _Big Boomer_ and entered the building, Blake close behind.

The duo made their way through the facility, only encountering a few surprisingly large rats on the way. They reached a storage room in the back, and found half a dozen robots ripped apart in their charging pods. They were about to turn around and throw the towel in, when a loud _Crunch_ sounded from the corner of the room.

The girls looked to the corner of the room, and found there was one charging pod left hidden behind a few filing cabinets. The pod had opened up, revealing… a protectron. Yang walked towards the robot, interested by the large machine. She reached a hand out to touch the machine, but jumped backwards when it shuddered to life, taking a few steps towards the girls.

" _F1ST0 is programmed to please. Please assume the position."_

Yang shrugged. "Well Blake, you heard the robot." She reached down, pretending to begin removing her pants.

"YANG! Not here." Blake exclaimed, blushing.

"Calm down, Blake; I'm just kidding around. Let's get this thing back to the _Wrangler_. Too bad we don't get to take him for a spin…"

Blake grinned in a way Yang only saw when she was reading _Ninjas of Love_. "Who said we need to take anything back to the _Wrangler_? All I see is a room full of destroyed, useless robots." With this last comment, Blake threw Yang an evil wink. Yang was about to point out her partner's apparent idiocy, but quickly picked up on the raven-haired girl's hidden message, and couldn't help but grin from ear to ear.

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Ruby, Weiss and Cass arrived at the 38 just as the sun began to hit the western horizon. Weiss walked up next to Ruby, following her to the elevator. "Ruby, I am so sorry for earlier. I had no idea I had accidently gra…"

She was interrupted by Ruby putting a finger up to Weiss' lips, shushing her. "It's ok Weiss! It was an accident; I'm not going to hold it against you." The girls and Cass stepped into the elevator, hitting the button for the suite. "Now let's get back to the penthouse before anything else weird hap…"

Ruby stopped speaking when the elevator suddenly stopped in the lobby, the doors opening to reveal Yang and Blake attempting to guide a protectron into the elevator. "Alright Blake, we need to make sure nobody sees this thing before we get it to our room. Once in the elevator, we can…"

"Hi Yang!" Ruby exclaimed.

The blonde jumped, startled by the trio of people already in the elevator. _'Well… there goes that foolproof plan.'_ Yang turned to look at Ruby. "Hey Rubes! How did the drive go?"

"It went well. Why do you have a robot?" Ruby asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Ah… well… the thing with that is…" Yang stuttered.

"It has some data about Vegas on its memory core. We're bringing it up to our room to check it out." Blake spoke up, realizing Yang was about to blow their cover.

Weiss and Cass stared at the duo, almost able to smell the bullshit in the air, but Ruby just nodded and let the girls and their robot onto the elevator. "Ok than!" Blake and Yang sighed in relief and led the robot onto the lift.

The elevator ride was silent. As soon as the door opened, Yang and Blake quickly led the robot into their room, shoving it in and slamming the door behind it. Everyone headed into the kitchen, surprised to see Liz, Veronica and Boone already at work throwing together dinner. "How did you guys get up here so fast?" Yang asked, confused.

Liz looked up, smirking at the blonde brawler. "Been here for almost an hour, we just didn't park on the first floor of the garage."

"First floor?" Yang asked, the answer only leading to more questions.

"Yeah, the ramp out of the garage goes to a lower angle if the right button is pressed, granting access to the body shop below the garage."

' _Note to self, bring bike down there to modify later.'_ Yang thought, excited by the idea of modifying _Stinger_ even more. "Anyway, how'd the cove go?"

"Didn't make it; we got a bit… sidetracked."

Yang was about to ask what that meant, but was immediately distracted by the smell of whatever Liz was currently frying on the stovetop. "What is that? It smells amazing!"

Liz grinned, an expression of smug self-pride forming on her face. "Alright, dinner's ready! Who wants deathclaw steaks?"

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Ruby was leaning back in her chair in the kitchen, feet up on the table. "Oh my god Liz that was amazing! How did you manage to get deathclaw meat?"

"The bastard jumped in front of me, therefore asked for me to run him over." Liz responded, smirking at the memory. Blake had gone to work on the robot, Boone had stepped onto the balcony, Weiss was cleaning up in her and Ruby's room, and ED-E was charging in Liz's room, leaving Ruby, Cass, Liz, Veronica and Ruby alone in the kitchen.

Ruby was thumbing through her Pip-Boy, screwing with the settings, when something caught her eye. A new signal had appeared on the radio tab, labeled _Midnight Science Fiction Feature_. Curious, Ruby activated the signal. Soft, instrumental jazz started playing, and the Pip-Boy automatically flipped to the notes tab, showing a new note sharing the same name as the signal. Ruby opened it, and was greeted with a small text document.

 **Attention!**

You and one guest are invited to the _'Midnight Science Fiction Feature'_

Time: 11PM to 3AM

Date: Tonight

Location: Mojave Drive-In Theater [add to map]

 _See you soon!_

Ruby stared at the document for a moment, confused yet… oddly excited. _'A movie night? Sounds like fun!'_ She decided to wait for Weiss and see if she was in the mood for a quick drive.

As Ruby thought about the note, she walked as Yang walked up behind Cass and Veronica, whispering something only the three of them could hear. Simultaneously, Veronica's face curved into a massive, evil grin, and Cass' became an expression of worry. The redhead cowgirl chugged her drink and tossed the bottle into the sink just in time for Yang to grab her and Veronica by the collar and quickly drag them out of the kitchen.

Weiss was walking down the hall, headed back to the kitchen. She was about to turn the corner when Yang blew past her knocking her flat on her ass in the living room. "What's the rush, you dolt!?"

"Can't talk, Blake's dangerously hor… uh, I mean… can't talk, in a hurry!" Yang called out of the back of her head. Weiss pulled herself up and looked down the hall in time to see Yang pulling a very excited looking Veronica and a very worried looking Cass into Yang and Blake's room, slamming the door behind them.

Weiss shrugged it off and walked into the kitchen. Immediately, Ruby ran up to Weiss, excitement in her eyes. "Weiss, wanna go see a movie?"

"What?" Weiss asked, confused.

Ruby showed Weiss the message that had appeared on her Pip-Boy concerning the movie. "It's currently six o'clock. If we leave soon, we should be able to make it. Can we go Weiss, Please?!"

Weiss tried to be stoic and refuse, but caved it when ruby threw her a childish pout. _'Damn, I can't just say no to those eyes, now can I?'_ "Alright Ruby, I'll come along. Go wait for me in the garage; I'll be down there in about ten minutes."

Ruby squealed and hugged Weiss. "THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!" With that, the young huntress darted to the elevator, and headed down to the garage.

Weiss smirked, happy that Ruby could manage to be so cute despite the current situation. She headed to her room, looking around for anything she would need. She picked up her armor and threw it on; removing the heavier leather pads for comfort, then grabbed her new laser RCW, slinging it over her shoulder. Weiss walked up to the mirror in the corner, suddenly having an idea. She undid her normal ponytail, instead letting her hair reach its natural length all the way to her back. She grabbed a bottle of vodka out of the dresser, took a swig, and left the room.

Weiss walked up to Yang and Blake's room, and knocked on the door. "Ruby and I are going out for the night. See you later." Weiss turned to leave, but was distracted by a noise coming out of the room. _'Is that… a jackhammer?'_ Weiss put her ear to the door, and indeed could hear some form of power tool, along with something she couldn't place, something… softer. She knocked once more, turning the knob and opening the door as she did so. "What are you guys doing in here, remodeling the ro… WHAT THE FU-?!"

"Guys, I don't think I'm drunk enough for this yet…"

" _Don't be a bitch; the safeword is 'Skynet'."_

"Alright guys, lets do thi… Whoa. Just… whoa."

"Like what you see back there, Veronica?"

"LESS TALKING MORE FUCKING!"

"Blakie, please calm down, and don't bite that so ha- WEISS CLOSE THE DAMN DOOR!"

Weiss complied, slamming the door shut and running towards the elevator.

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Ruby heard the elevator _ding_ and looked up to see Weiss standing in the elevator, armor on and hair let down. Ruby walked towards her teammate, excited to get going. "Hey Weiss, are you ready to go yet? I love what you did with your hai… Weiss, are you ok? You look like you just saw a deathclaw eat a friend."

' _Somebody sure was eating something.'_ Weiss thought as she nodded, still in shock from the… show she had just walked in on. "I'm alright, just… You drive, ok? I need to think for a minute." Ruby nodded and tossed Weiss a helmet, mounting the bike. Weiss climbed into the passenger seat, pulled the helmet on over her head, and curled up into a ball, knees at her chest in the sidecar. Ruby keyed the ignition, revved the engine, and they were off.

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 _AN_ _: Well, that chapter was really fun to write. Sorry if it was all filler, but the next chapter should more than make up for it, as we get to see how Ruby and Weiss react to being tossed into a plot worthy of a B-team 50's sci-fi horror movie! Anyway, time for review reactions:_

 _Unzealots_ _: Yeah, nothing beats riding across the wasteland on a badass pre-war chopper. Glad you like the story!_

 _Roach99_ _: I plan on addressing companions in the next poll, just see below the review responses._

 _Cole Tyger_ _: I do plan on having team RWBY help with the attack on the Fort, it will just happen a bit later than normal ( I'm letting them get used to wasteland lifestyle for a bit first.) As for the side quests, I plan on doing them as I go with whatever team members/ game companions seem best fit for the situation. I'm glad my brand of slightly twisted humor is found pleasing, and I hope it stays that way!_

 _Alright guys, one more thing. The poll results are in for what faction ending to eliminate, and Legion has been knocked out in a landslide Now, for the next poll, I would like to ask what companions, if any, I should add to the story out of the three remaining humanoids (Don't worry about Rex, I have a plan for him). This poll, like the last one, will be collected in two weeks._

 _Thank you again Readers for sticking with this story. I hope you all liked the chapter, don't be afraid to favorite, follow, or review, and just remember kiddies: Don't feed the Yao-Guai!_

 _-DovahCourier_


	10. Chapter 10 - One Hell of a Movie Night

_AN_ _: Hello again Readers, DovahCourier here! I am pleasantly surprised at the sheer amount of positive feedback given on the last chapter, and I hope this chapter pleases you al- wait, I just realized how easily that can be made into a dirty joke… just enjoy the chapter!_

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 _I do not own RWBY or Fallout: New Vegas. RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth and New Vegas belongs to Obsidian Entertainment/Bethesda._

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 **The Tale of Dust and Sand**

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Ten: One Hell of a Movie Night

Ruby and Weiss arrived at the drive-in theater at 11:25. Weiss' OCD was fairing up at the pair's slightly late arrival. "You dolt, I told you the fastest route would be through Sloan!"

"Yeah, but that would've brought us back past the quarry!" Ruby responded, wincing at her teammate's yelling.

Weiss considered Ruby's response for a moment, and realized it did make sense. _'No need to go past those… things if we don't need to.'_ "Alright. Now, where is the movie?"

Ruby looked up to the screen, realizing there was no movie playing. Instead, the ancient movie screen was covered by a projection of a massive eye, darting around at high speeds. _'That's odd… better check the projector house.'_ Ruby looked to the projector hut, surprised when she saw there was no light coming out of it. Confused, she looked back to the screen, following the light to the source. In the middle of the parking lot was a large pile of debris that seemed to be emitting the light.

Ruby approached the debris, quickly realizing it was some kind of satellite. "Hey Weiss, come look at this…" Ruby knelt down, more closely looking at the crashed device.

"Ruby, I don't think you should touch that…" Weiss said hesitantly.

"What's wrong Weiss, scared?"

"No!" The heiress exclaimed, offended. "It just seems a bit… suspicious."

"Well, so are Yang's cooking skills, but do you see me blatantly refusing to eat when she cooks?" The girl started to reach out to touch the satellite. "You know what they say… 'Nothing ventured, nothing gai-'" Ruby was cut short when she touched the satellite and was instantaneously paralyzed. She tried to scream, but nothing came out. _'What the heck is happening?'_ Her vision was filled with the image of the eye on the screen before she was blinded by a flash of blue, deafened by the crackle of electricity, and her reality faded to black.

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"…RUBY!" Weiss shot awake, the image of her teammate reaching down and touching the satellite still fresh in her mind. She looked around, observing her surroundings for a moment. She was lying on the floor of some kind of balcony looking over what appeared to be a large crater. The borders of the balcony were blocked by some form of energy field, blocking any access to the outside. She looked down at herself, noticing she was only wearing a set of hospital patient's scrubs and her Pip-Boy.

She got up; still a bit dizzy from whatever had happened. She felt a sudden, dull pain arc across her back, but dismissed it as a cramp from waking up. She stepped towards the balcony, resting her hands on the railing. After a moment, she pulled away and looked at her hands, surprised at what she saw. _'Since when do I have so many calluses? And when did I chip a nail!?'_ She began walking around the balcony, looking for any sign of where Ruby could be. She turned the corner and was greeted by the sight of… herself?

In front of Weiss stood a tall, slender girl, also wearing a hospital gown and a Pip-Boy. The girl had back length hair, white enough to reflect the light the moon was casting on the balcony. Over one of the girl's icy blue eyes was a long, faded scar. Weiss' jaw dropped; she was looking at herself.

' _How… what… who… when…'_ Weiss' panicked thoughts were interrupted by 'Weiss' pointing at her and screaming. "AHHHH! ROBOT CLONE!"

'Weiss' leapt at Weiss, teeth barred and fists raised for combat. Weiss panicked and put her arms up in defense. 'Weiss' grabbed the arms and spun, using her momentum to throw Weiss against a wall next to a metal crate. Weiss put her arms up again, panicking. "STOP!" Weiss was caught off guard by the voice she heard. She had chosen the word, and she had opened her mouth to speak, but the voice wasn't hers.

'Weiss' stopped for a moment, allowing Weiss to pull herself up off of the ground. On the way up, Weiss caught a glimpse of herself in the crate's reflective surface, and immediately did a double-take. She picked up the crate's lid, and nearly fainted when she saw her own reflection. She was expecting to see a face identical to that of her attacker, but this was not the case.

Instead of long white hair, she had short and feathery dark brunette hair, with the tips of the bangs tinted a dark red. Her normal pale skin was a half-tone darker. Instead of cold, pale blue eyes, she had a set of warm, deep silver ones. "What the-" Weiss cut herself short, realizing who's voice she was speaking with, and who's body she was somehow inside of.

It was Ruby's.

Weiss lowered the metal plate, still in shock. She looked up at the girl in front of her, looking her in the eyes. "…Ruby?"

'Weiss' put her fists down, confused. "How do you know my name?"

' _That confirms it.'_ Weiss spoke up, still slightly confused when she heard Ruby's voice come out of her mouth. "Ruby… It's me, Weiss."

"LIES! You are a robot sent from the future to replace me and kill my team! DIE!" Ruby lunged at Weiss. Weiss lifted the metal lid, hoping to at least block the blows without damaging what she now realized was somehow _her_ body. Ruby stopped halfway through the swing, screaming when she saw her reflection. "WHA… WHO… WHERE…"

Weiss dropped the lid and stepped forward, ignoring the weirdness of hugging her own body. "Ruby… just calm down, ok?"

"HOW CAN I CALM DOWN? I somehow sent us to wherever the hell this is, we somehow switched bodies, and YOU ALREADY BROKE MINE!"

"Wait, what?" Weiss asked, confused by the last part of Ruby's statement.

"That scar at the hairline was NOT there last time I checked!"

Weiss' hand darted up to her forehead. She found a very fine scar, just above where Ruby's feathery hair met her forehead. She followed it with her fingers, finding the scar went all the way around her skull. "Alright, this was NOT my fault! I just woke up a minute before you attacked me, and I am just as confused as you are. Now, follow me, and we'll see if we can find a way down." Ruby nodded, following Weiss around the balcony. They came across a large metal door, which slid away into the wall to reveal an elevator. The duo entered the lift and pressed the 'down' button.

A brief ride later, the door opened to reveal a hallway bathed in a blue light. Weiss entered the hallway and was suddenly filled with a feeling of… peace. She felt as though she was back at home in Atlas, and had just gotten out of a warm bath only to be covered with her favorite warm robe. She stepped forward, leading Ruby farther into the hallway. The hallway began to slope upwards, leading the pair into a large, dark room. As Ruby and Weiss crossed the threshold of the large room, blue lights lining the walls and floor snapped on, revealing… _'What the hell are those things?'_

In front of the duo was a line of very… odd robots. Each one's face was a set of monitors, with one for each eye and a single one for the mouth. The entire robot seemed to be built around a glass tank in the center, filled with some kind of fluid and… _'Is that a BRAIN?!'_ Was all Weiss could think as she tried to get a closer look at the robot in front of her.

Suddenly, the robot in front jolted to life. It looked left and right, looking at the other robots, than spoke up. "I THOUGHT I HEARD THE PACIFICATION FIELD KICK IN. ALL RIGHT, SHHH. NOBODY MOVE. I'LL HANDLE THIS." The robot than turned to face Ruby and Weiss, "BE WARNED, INTRUDER! YOU ARE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE MIGHTY THINK TANK OF BIG MT, THE COLLECTIVE GENIUSES OF… WE… BY OPPENHEIMER, WHICH ONE OF YOU SELF PROFESSED GENIUSES HAS BEEN SCREWING WITH MY VOLUME KNOB? WHO WAS IT?! WAS IT _YOU_ , 8?"

A sudden crackle of dial-up static emitted from the robot's speaker.

"OH, 'DR. O' WAS IT? LIKELY STORY, O COULDN'T SPARK TWO NEURONS IF THEY WERE IN A LATTICE OF BIOMED GEL."

Suddenly, the robot began speaking in a different voice, changing from the overwhelming authoritative tone to a slightly weaker, more nasally voice. "What? Me? Breaking news Klein, it wasn't me! I am just the robotics engineer, 8 is the soundwave 'specialist'. You always do this; you always demean me in front of guests! And it's not 'O,' alright, it's…!"

The robot's commanding voice returned. "ENOUGH! EITHER OF YOU DO IT AGAIN, IT'LL BE THE LAST TIME. NOW… NOW…" The robot hesitated for a moment. "…GREAT, NOW I FORGOT WHAT I WAS SAYING… WHAT WAS I TALKING ABOUT?"

Weiss stepped forward, not wanting the situation to get any weirder. "Where the hell are we?"

The robot looked at Weiss, massive eyes showing an expression of shock. "DID… DID IT JUST SAY SOMETHING? ANYONE CATCH THAT? BOROUS, YOU WORK WITH ANIMALS; TRANSLATE."

The robot spoke up again, this time in a voice that would be at home hosting a game-show. "It's a pair of LOBOTOMITES. Here! In the DOME!-"

"OH, AS IF THIS SITUATION COULD GET ANY WORSE, NOW WE HAVE A LOBOTOMITE INFESTATION! DALA, GET THE SPRAY BEFORE THEY EXCRETE ALL OVER EVERYTHING."

Before Weiss could react to the blatantly offensive statement, the robot spoke up again, this time with a smooth female voice. "Dr. Klein… if my hypothesis is correct, one of these Lobotomites is the repository for the brain we sent the signal to; the skinvelope once containing it. If so, it's proof that there may indeed be something beyond the Crater. Just look at it… the way it blinks. It's like a big hairless teddy bear."

The main voice returned once more. "I KNOW _WHAT_ THEY ARE, DALA, I WANT TO KNOW _WHY_ THEY'RE DOWN HERE, WITH THEIR… THEIR _LIMBS_ ALL OVER EVERYTHING." The voice became disgusted, as if discussing a puddle of goo. "AND… ARE THOSE… PENISES I SEE WRIGGLING ON ITS FEET? DISGUSTING."

The female voice spoke up again. "I believe those are toes, Dr. Klein. Penises are much larger than those tiny extremities… eh, not that I would know."

The nasally voice from earlier returned. "I don't remember the human penis ever being THAT large…"

The female spoke back up. "It depends one one's frame of reference, Doctor O. Look at their little noses with the orifices for ingesting oxygen."

"NOSES? BY THE GREAT STATIC, THESE LOBOTOMITES CONFOUND ME WITH THEIR SHEER NUMBER OF USELESS EXTREMITIES."

Weiss and Ruby facepalmed in sync, both utterly shocked by the scene unfolding in front of them.

"WHAT… WHAT ARE THEY DOING? DID WE INSTITUTE ELECTROSHOCK? OR ARE THEY EXCRETING?"

The game-show host voice returned. 'Dr. Klein, WAIT! I… I don't believe those gestures were random. They've been following our conversation! These Lobotomites… understand us!"

The female spoke up again. "I agree with Borous' histrionic findings. These little Lobotomites are unusually attentive for something whose brains have been extracted."

"NONSENSE; LOBOTOMITES CAN'T COMPREHEND US!"

Another sudden crackle of dial-up tone sounded from the robot's speakers.

The nasally voice returned. "8, have you been doing mentats again? If we slowed down our auro-processo-receptors to understand this thing, we'll all be rendered ignorant!"

"ALL OF YOU, POWER DOWN, SHUT UP, AND LET ME PROVE HOW WRONG YOU ALL ARE. AS USUAL." The robot turned its attention to the pair of very confused girls standing in front of it, and continued in a very slow voice. "LOBOTOMITE, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME? CAN YOU SPEAK?"

Weiss stepped forward, doing her best to be angry at the… thing, but something was keeping her calm. "Yes we can speak, you ignorant piece of… ugh, why do I feel so passive right now?"

"THOSE WERE WORDS, WEREN'T THEY? IT'S ASKING ME A QUESTION. IS THIS SOME KIND OF TRICK?"

The game show host spoke up once again. "Our efforts have turned against us! In playing GOD, we created a MONSTER!"

The female spoke up once more. "Perhaps during the lobotomy we filled these skinvelopes with… awareness. Like a teddy bear with new stuffing."

The nasally voice returned. "If that is true, these Lobotomites can understand us… can reason with us…"

"THAN THIS MAY BE JUST THE ANSWER WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR. AT LAST, A CHANCE TO…"

The voice was again interrupted by dial-up noises.

The game show host spoke up again, a panicked tone filling his voice. "Dr. Klein! A TRANSMISSION from the FORBIDDEN Zone; coming right at US!"

"IT CAN ONLY BE…"

Suddenly, a large screen on the wall above the doorway Ruby and Weiss had entered through crackled to life, projecting an image of a robot similar to the one the pair was 'speaking' with. The only difference was that one of this one's monitors containing an eye had cracked, leaving it black. "If it isn't my old colleagues, the mighty 'Think Tank' of Big MT. Big FOOLS, all of you. It is I, Dr. Mobius, transmitting from my dome-shaped… dome in the Forbidden Zone; A zone… that is, yes… forbidden to you. Even now, my deadly Robo-Scorpions swarm across Big MT with their pincers and pointy laser tails. Soon, all Science will be mine! Even the technologies sealed in the Big MT research centers cannot save you. That's all. Goodbye." The screen turned black, killing the transmission.

The lead voice spoke up once more. "MOBIUS. HE'S CLEARLY MAD, DRIVEN INSANE BY HIS FLAWED AND IMPRECISE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY."

The nasally voice returned. "What are we going to do? There's no way we can breach the Forbidden Zone with those Robo-Scorpions everywhere!"

The dramatic TV host spoke up once more. "The FORBIDDEN ZONE, where no brain has EVER entered, nor ever RETURNED!"

The female spoke up again. "And the technologies that could save us, they are outside of our reach."

"AND DR. MOBIUS MOCKS US! DID YOU SEE HIS MONITOR? HE'S OBVIOUSLY LET HIMSELF GO."

Another wave of static came out of the speaker.

The nasally voice responded to the static, apparently shocked. "What? Ask the Lobotomites for help? 8, I think you need to het your logic circuit checked."

The female spoke again. "Dr. Klein, these Lobotomites are clearly intelligent, perhaps enough to help us out."

The TV host spoke up again. "But what about the bitchy one's brain? We scooped that out, and don't even know where we left it! And for putting it back in… none of us have the knowledge!"

Weiss stepped forward, pure fury overwhelming the 'pacification field'. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU REMOVED MY BRAIN!?"

The female spoke up. "Not you, little one. It is the bitchy white haired one whose brain we removed…"

"I AM the white haired one! You didn't just remove my brain; you put hers in MY body!"

The female spoke up again. "Oh dear… yes I remember now; We removed both brains, but 8 broke the last spare jar, so we had to put the electronic brain in one body, and the spare brain in the other… apparently we mixed something up along the way."

Before Weiss could respond, the TV voice spoke up. "Once the brain was out, then came the TESLA coils…"

Weiss interrupted before any of the voices could speak up. "So, you gave a ROBOTIC BRAIN!?"

A series of beeps and static came out of the speaker, before the nasally voice returned. "Yeah 8, no need to brag. Wherever your brain is, it's transmitting thoughts to you through the… what… the, um… uh…"

The TV voice came back. "The TESLA COILS! In its HEAD!"

This time, Ruby was the one to speak up. "Alright, but that doesn't explain the scar I have on my… I mean Weiss' chest; or the one I can see on Weiss'… I mean my back."

Weiss looked at ruby, blushing in embarrassment. "Wait, you were looking at my chest?"

Before Ruby could come up with an explanation, the lead voice started speaking again. "DALA, WAS THAT REALLY NECESSARY THIS TIME?"

The female spoke up again. "I assume full responsibility. I take my duties involving living tissue quite seriously. Although in truth, the Auto-Doc had done most of the work already. After the brain was removed, other organs began sending out signals on nerves. Rather than let them send their signals, I removed them as well. Shush, little organs. Go to sleep in your tanks, Dala loves you."

The TV host spoke again. "First, it was the white-haired one's HEART!"

Ruby immediately patted her chest, feeling the scars and realizing they lined up with where Weiss' heart would have been.

"Wait, I mean… SECOND was the heart, the Brains were first. THIRD… was the red-haired one's SPINE."

' _Well, that explains the back ache.'_ Weiss thought as she patted her back, finding the scar Ruby had mentioned running all the way along where her spine should be.

The nasally voice spoke up. "The spine; totally overrated, that arrangement of vertebrae. 'Look at me, with my lumbar and thoracic curvature.' Never had a use for any of that. Spineless is what I prefer."

Weiss spoke up, infuriated. "Well than if you ripped my brain out, than WHERE THE HELL IS IT!?"

The female voice responded. "Well, _technically_ the Auto-Doc took out your brains. I've never seen it work so hard before. It was… unusual. It worked so hard on you two's surgery, it destroyed its own memory core. How odd. I bet your brain remembers what happened."

The lead voice returned. "THAT AUTO-DOC JUNKHEAP WAS ONE OF MOBIUS' CREATIONS, LIKE THE REST OF THE TALKING SCRAP METAL UP IN THE ATTIC."

The nasally voice came back. "After that, the brain lost itself – literally; it probably got flushed into one of the pipes."

The TV host spoke up again. "If so, it was FLUSHED all the way to MOBIUS! Fwoooooosh! That… is the sound of FLUSHING."

"BY THE FISSURE OF ROLANDO… ENOUGH OF THIS BIOLOGICAL SURGERY TALK. LOBOTOMITES, LISTEN TO MY VOICE. IT DENOMINATES ME TO ASK, BUT… WE NEED YOUR HELP. OUR ENEMY, MOBIUS, PROBABLY HAS YOUR BRAIN. THIS IS NOT GOOD; HE WILL MOST LIKELY COME AFTER _OUR_ BRAINS NEXT. WE WANT YOU TO STOP HIM. SOMEHOW. WITH SCIENCE."

Weiss was getting angrier by the second. "Ok, you stole and LOST my brain, switched Ruby and I's bodies, stole our organs, and now you want us to HELP you!"

"THAT IS CORRECT, YES. WE NEED THESE TECHNOLOGIES. YOU NEED TO GET THEM. YOU MUST GET THEM. WILL YOU HELP US?"

Weiss looked the robot in the 'eyes', doing her best to put on a stern expression with Ruby's childish face. "No."

"OH."

"Yes, Dr. Klein?"

"NOT YOU O, I MEAN 'OH.' IN THE SENSE OF 'OH, I WASN'T PREDICTING THAT IT WOULD RESPOND THAT WAY.' CAN IT EVEN SAY NO?"

"Screw this, we're leaving. Come on, Ruby."

"YOU CAN'T LEAVE! AND I DON'T MEAN THAT AS A THREAT. THE RADAR FENCE THAT SURROUNDS THE CRATER WILL 'PROTECT' YOU FROM LEAVING THE FACILITY."

The female spoke up. "Yes, the radar fence knocks you out. There is minimal nerve damage, and you are instantaneously sent back to the Sink upstairs."

Weiss realized the only way to escape this hellhole alive would be to help the crazy robots. So, against all good judgment, Weiss spoke up. "Fine… how can we help?"

The nasally voice spoke up. "Alright, 8's transmitted the last known coordinates of the research centers. They, um… they… well, move sometimes. Or get buried. Or blow up."

Another scrambled mess of beeps and static emitted from the speakers. "8'S CORRECT. ALL WE NEED ARE THE SCHEMATICS. THIS DOES NOT MEAN WE DO NOT WANT THE COLD, HARD TECHNOLOGY, HOWEVER. SO DO NOT GIVE IN TO YOUR BIOLOGICAL LAZINESS AND DECIDE THE TECH IS TOO HEAVY. YOU HAVE A BRAND NEW ROBOTIC SPINE; USE IT! AND EVEN IF YOU DIE RECLAIMING THEM, SIMPLY REACHING THEM WILL SEND US THE SCHEMATICS. THAT IS STILL GOOD; FOR US, ANYWAY."

Ruby looked at the floor, worried. "This place sounds a bit dangerous…"

"NONSENSE! THIS PLACE IS NO MORE DANGEROUS THAN A NUCLEAR DETONATION SITE! THE TECHNOLOGIES ARE; THE X-2 TRANSMITTER ANTENNA ARRAY…"

The TV host spoke up. "The Psycho-Analytic Cardiac-Dampening Stealth Suit…"

A series of angry beeps and static flew out of the speaker, followed by the female speaking up. "…and 8's Sonic-Soundwave-Emitter-Projecto-Gun."

"THERE, WE HAVE INFORMED YOU OF ALL WE NEED. IF YOU WORK QUICKLY, YOU WILL BE THE RECIPIENT OF A GESTURE OF GRATITUDE FROM US. WE DO NOT BESTOW THESE OLD WORLD GESTURES LIGHTLY."

Weiss smirked. "Trust me; we want to get through this as quickly as we can."

The nasally voice spoke up again. "Dr. Klein, if I may interject for a moment…"

"WHAT IS IT, O? THE LOBOTOMITES ARE ASKING ME THINGS AND MY PROCESSORS CAN'T IGNORE ALL THREE OF YOU AT ONCE."

"Well, it turns out we already have a sonic emitter! What are the odds?"

"WHAT IS THIS, A HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE FAIR?! GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER!

"You're always yelling! My receptors can't take it anymore – and neither can my feelings!"

"I AM YELLING BECAUSE YOU CONTAMINATED SPECIMENS CAN'T KEEP YOUR PROBES OFF THE VOLUME KNOB TO MY VOICE MODULE!"

Weiss spoke up, slightly confused. "If you already have the gun, than why do you need us to help?"

The female voice returned once more. "We still need to get the correct frequency for the gun from X-8."

"GIVE. THE. LOBOTOMITE. THE. FUCKING. EMITTER. DOES IT HAVE AN AUDIO FREQUENCY LOADED?"

Another set of random noises came from the speaker.

"Oh god, not this again…" The nasally voice said, almost sounding embarrassed.

"What is it?" Weiss asked, confused.

"I think 8 is working on the gun. Getting it… warmed up."

Another series of loud beeps and static emitted from the speaker.

"Ding… turkey's done."

"YOU GIVE IT TO THE LOBOTOMITE. I'M NOT TOUCHING THAT THING."

"Oh, I don't think so."

The female spoke up. "I'll do it if you two are going to be ashamed of your own technological needs. Let me just give it a quick sonic sterilization first… There you go, nice and clean of any RobCo terminal code spew…"

A hatch opened in the floor, and a pedestal holding an odd pistol rose up. Weiss stepped forward and picked the device up, looking it over. Weiss gave the device one look before frowning and looking up at the robot. "Energy cells tend to deplete pretty quickly. Have any spare ammo?"

The female voice spoke up. "Yes, they tend to do that. Batteries for my vibr… I mean, vivisector… would always die before I could have any fun."

The nasally voice spoke up. "Yes Dala, I bet you know a LOT about that kind of thing… it seems we are all out of energy ce-"

The robot was cut off by a string of beeps. "Wait, why would you have some spare… never mind, I don't want to know. Just hand them to the Lobotomite."

A box of energy cells materialized on the table, as if they had been stored in a Pip-Boy. Weiss picked them up and pocketed them. Ruby looked at the small weapon in her partner's hand, than looked up to the robot. "That little thing is cute and all, but do ya have anything that spits lead?"

"WHAT DID IT SAY? SPIT 'LEAD?' WHAT; LIKE PENCILS?"

The nasally voice spoke up, almost as if it had just realized something. "Oh… I think it wants a combustion pistol."

The TV voice spoke up, worried. "A GUN?! Are you MAD!? We can't give it a GUN!"

More random noises came out, before the female voice spoke up. "Dr. 8 is correct. We already gave them a sonic death ray. Giving them a gun would be like following a glass of cyanide with an Abraxo chaser; Delicious, and redundantly deadly."

"FINE! GIVE THE LOBOTOMITE A COMBUSTION-GUN. BOROUS, DON'T YOU HAVE SOMETHING LIKE THAT?"

"Yes, I have THE Cyberdog Gun, complete with the little floppy metal ears and the curious nose sensor, along with a few boxes of puppy chow. Here-"

A larger hatch opened up in front of Ruby, and the girl nearly fainted when she saw the weapon waiting for her. On the rising platform was a massive tri-barrel minigun, built around what appeared to be a brain in a jar, along with a few boxes of .357 rounds. Ruby immediately loaded the ammo into her Pip-Boy, and tried to pick the new toy up, but stumbled backwards, landing underneath the massive weapon. "WEISS! You really need to work on your upper body strength!"

"It's not my fault I don't swing a weapon twice my size around on a daily basis!" The heiress retorted, irritated that Ruby's body was stronger than hers.

"ALRIGHT! THAT GUN MAKES ME UNCOMFORTABLE ANYWAY, ALWAYS WORRIED IT WAS GOING TO HUMP MY CHASSIS. NEED ANYTHING ELSE, LOBOTOMITES?"

Weiss stepped forward, speaking while she helped Ruby out from underneath the massive weapon. "Well, if there is nothing else, I believe we should go and get to work stopping Mobius. We'll be back later with these… things."

"YES, I BELIEVE THE TOKEN WORDS IN THIS SITUATION ARE 'THANK YOU.'"

Ruby and Weiss turned to leave, but were interrupted once more by the female voice. "Dr. Klein, won't the Lobotomites need somewhere to rest? I volunteer my chambers, so that they may be observed-"

The nasally voice spoke up before the female could finish speaking. "How about we give it Mobius' old room? It's where their brains got scooped out anyway, and their heart and spine are already in there. Might be more comfortable for them to hang out with their organs while they float in biogel filled containers. Home _is_ where the heart is, after all."

Ruby and Weiss groaned at the Yang-level pun.

"I SUPPOSE THAT WOULD WORK. HERE, TAKE THE SINK'S CENTRAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CHIP TO REINSTALL IT WHEN YOU GET THERE. THAN MAKE WHATEVER CRUDE BIOLOGIC DEMANDS YOU NEED OF THE SINK. IT WILL CATER TO MOST OF YOUR HORMONAL WHIMS."

A holotape appeared in Ruby's hand. The words 'central AI' printed on its label. "This chip looks like it was mass produced… are there other chips?"

The female spoke up. "Yes; there are many other personality AIs for the Sink. Klein here threw them all off the balcony after his argument with Mobius."

"IT IS NOT AN ARGUMENT IF ONE IS CLEARLY RIGHT AND THE OTHER IS CLEARLY WRONG! I REMEMBER NOW. YES, LOBOTOMITES, THERE ARE OTHER HOLOTAPES. IF YOU WISH TO FIND THEM, I JUST SENT A LIST OF LOCATIONS TO YOUR PIP-BOYS. NOW, IF YOU ARE DONE, GO! FIND THE TECHNOLOGIES!"

The nasally voice spoke up once more. "If we're done here, can I move now? My biogel is starting to coagulate…"

"OF COURSE YOU CAN MOVE! UGH… I AM SURROUNDED BY CHILDREN!"

With that, the remaining for 'Think Tanks' powered back up and began floating around, getting back to normal duties. Weiss and Ruby turned around, walked back to the elevator, and headed up to see their temporary lodgings.

 **LINE BREAK -LINE BREAK**

Ruby stepped off of the elevator and into the Sink. The main room had a large round table in the center, different lights and holographic shapes emitting from it's surface. Ruby walked up to the table, noticing there was an open slot on the edge of the table. _'This must be where that AI goes...'_ Ruby took the large holotape from her pocket and put it into the slot.

Immediately, the room was filled with an ear-piercing shriek. Weiss covered her ears. "RUBY! PULL IT BACK OUT!"

Ruby complied, tearing the holotape back out of the table. To Weiss' relief, the sound instantly stopped. Ruby looked down at the holotape, wondering what had happened, than had an idea. She raised the tape to her lips, softly blowing into the device's open end. Weiss stared at her partner's actions, perplexed. "What exactly are you doing?"

Ruby grinned in a way Weiss didn't think her face was capable of. "Dad used to tell me about when you had to do this to get games to work. Now, if I just put it back in the slot..." Weiss covered her ears ahead of time as Ruby inserted the holodisk into it's slot. This time, instead of an ear splitting screech, the table began to... speak.

 _"Good day sirs. I am the Sink's central intelligence. How may I be of service today?"_

Ruby looked down at the table. "Um... we aren't exactly 'sirs'."

 _'I can tell, sir; I am just programmed to refer to all users as 'sir'."_

"Oh, it's ok. What exactly can you do?"

 _"I am capable of handling advanced calculations, activating and deactivating the rest of the sink's AI personalities if they are installed, and bartering using bottle caps as a currency."_

Weiss stepped forward, wanting to prevent Ruby from staying up all night talking to a glorified coffee table. "Well, that is good to know for later. Where are the bedrooms?"

 _"The bedroom is to your left, past the room with the Toaster."_

Ruby and Weiss followed the instructions, entering a small bedroom. There was a single bed, large enough for the two to share, along with a desk with a terminal, a closet full of lab coats, and a small model securitron on the floor surrounded by broken coffee mugs. Ruby turned to face Weiss. "Well, time to hit the hay?"

Ruby didn't even get a response before Weiss jumped onto the bed, taking claim to the left side and passing out in less than a second. _'Wow, I really am cute when I'm tired.'_ Ruby thought to herself, looking down at Weiss curling up into a ball. She crawled into bed, ready for sleep to take her away, when she felt something hard hit her head. _'What the…'_

Ruby reached into her pillowcase, pulling out a holotape. She looked around the tape, noticing it was unlabeled. _'I wonder what's on this thing…'_ Ruby plugged the holotape into her Pip-Boy, running the program. There appeared to be a collection of text logs stored on the device, sorted by date. Ruby opened the first one.

 _Log Entry: 12/5/2157_

 _Well, the last few days have been… interesting, to say the least. The last thing I remember is a Nevermore Alpha slamming into the Bullhead, the rest of the team getting thrown out, than… nothing. I woke up on the floor downstairs, surrounded by a few… interesting personalities. Apparently, I have crashed in some kind of research facility. The 'scientists' (I use that term VERY lightly) that inhabit this place seem to have no idea what Remnant is, or anything even remotely connected to home. Along with this, I have found that both my Semblance and Aura are completely nullified. I have been reading up on the history of this world, 'Earth', and it is… disturbing, to say the least._

 _I have been given the room of one of the scientists that apparently went rogue for the time being, and I plan on staying for a while; see if there are any ways this world's technology can be used to help me. There is likely no chance of me ever getting home, but if what I've heard about this world is true, it may be in need of a Huntress even more than Remnant._

Ruby immediately looked to Weiss, shaking her awake. "Weiss, Wake up; I found something!"

Weiss looked at Ruby angrily. "What the hell Ruby! I was just falling aslee-"

"Look at this!" Ruby ignored her partner's displeasure, shoving the Pip-Boy's screen into Weiss' face. Weiss groaned and scanned the block of text in front of her, irritation slowly turning into shock and wonder. Without asking Ruby, Weiss grabbed her arm and input a few commands, opening the next file.

 _Log Entry: 10/23/2160_

 _I have explored every facility in this crater. The tech here… is amazing! While some things are not nearly as great as on Remnant (No color television here, and most computers are either a bit weaker than what I'm used to or the size of the average house, just to name a couple of things.), but this world has managed to advance amazingly without the use of dust. There are weapons that wield pure energy, AIs that can act near human, and suits of armor that could let a man go toe to toe with an Ursa and walk away without breaking a sweat! It is all just so… otherworldly._

 _Most tech here is fueled using nuclear power; a process that, to my understanding, harnesses atoms themselves to create energy, at the price of radiation. The only negative side of this nearly unlimited source is that radiation seems to be what is completely eliminating my semblance. I lost my weapons and armor in the crash, but my few years here have given me time to reequip myself. I dug up a revolver some crazy bastard managed to chamber in .308 sniper rounds… the damn thing is nearly as long as my arm! Along with this, I have dug up a set of armor the scientists developed for stealth infiltration. While it is still in its early prototype stages, it makes me near-invisible when I am standing still. These should do nicely until I get my hands on some better gear._

 _Lastly, I have found a very interesting piece of tech in one of the train tunnels… an odd device called a Pip-Boy. I talked to the brains downstairs about it, and found it is capable of storing physical items as data. I am keeping this for sure…_

 _Log Entry: 12/5/2162_

 _Well, I've been here for a whole five years now. Hard to believe, isn't it? I have been tinkering with a bit of the tech here at the Big MT, and I have successfully combined the scientists' experimental teleportation tech (I refuse to call it a 'transportaplonder') with my armor, allowing me to make short range 'blinks'._

 _I have been working with my Pip-Boy's V.A.T.S. system, and I have managed to create a system where I pick up a signal from another Pip-Boy using the (very unfair) targeting system and lock onto it, allowing me to blink in and assist the user in combat if needed. I believe I have finally found my way to help the wasteland._

 _I've managed to find an old trench coat and hat, and have fitted them with a few layers of ballistic fiber and this odd 'Saturnite' material. I hope I can manage to find a signal within rang- Ha! A new Pip-Boy signal just popped up; if this map is correct, the user should be somewhere far west of here, out in the pre-war state of 'California'. I guess it's time to make my mark… wish me luck!_

Ruby and Weiss looked at the screen, shocked. _'Another Huntress, here?'_ Ruby attempted to open another file, but all others displayed the same message:

 _ ***Data Corrupted***_

Ruby stored the holotape, keeping it to review later. She turned to ask Weiss about it, but found the girl had already passed out. Not seeing any reason to stay awake any longer, Ruby followed suit, drifting slowly into sleep's embrace.

 **LINE BREAK -LINE BREAK**

 _AN_ _: Well that was longer than expected. Sorry if the chapter was boring, I just wanted to get it out of the way quickly while I had time over the weekend. Now, time to respond to some reviews!_

 _Guest2: Honestly, I have no freaking idea how to have the average wastelander react to Semblance/Aura in action. This, along with balancing out the combat, is why I have used the radiation explanation for Semblance and Aura being nullified._

 _Mandalore the freedom_ _: I'm glad you find the story promising so far, and I hope it continues to interest you. I plan on having the ladies slowly evolve to a point where they can handle day-to-day business and survival in the Mojave without panicking and breaking down, but still keep their personality quirks. On the note of the dialogue, I do realize I tend to screw up a LOT when it comes to group conversation, so I plan on keeping the groups at three people or less so I don't accidently throw characters into the background during conversation. I plan on slowly hinting at Liz's backstory over time, so don't worry about that not existing. As for ending, I will take reader input over time on what ending you all want most, and than modify it slightly to fit the team more. Any suggestions are appreciated, so feel free to leave them in a review or a PM._

 _Guest: I am sorry, but I am only going to have the story have characters from the games (and team RWBY, obviously), so I am not accepting any OCs._

 _Cole Tyger_ _: Yeah, I was chatting with a friend about this fic and he brought up how the two middle DLCs (OWB and HH) seemed perfect for Ruby/Weiss and Blake/Yang to handle (You will see what I mean with that second part in the next chapter). I am planning on having Liz do Dead Money alone in the background because, as you said, that would probably drive anyone in team RWBY insane. (Hell, I still panic shoot every radio I see in Fallout 4). I don't plan on including Lonesome Road because that is the Courier's road to walk alone. As for the entire Fisto scene, a friend and I were talking about the possibility of making Veronica x Yang a scene in this story, and the idea somehow snowballed into, well… this masterpiece. The little misplaced grab was a dumb idea I had, and I'm glad it worked out well. I'm glad you've stuck around this far, and I hope the story continues to please._

 _On Soaring Wings_ _: Well, we will get to see Weiss argue with her own brain, just not Ruby with hers. I do have a plan that I believe will more than make up for it, though…_

 _Roach99_ _: Well, this is the first time I've had a commenter stand up and applaud my work. Thank you! I'm glad my Storyteller joke wasn't completely wasted!_

 _Lasse2731_ _: Um… No. I am not lowering this story to smut level, only implied smut off screen._

 _Captaindickscratcher_ _: You sir just gave me another amazingly evil idea… *maniacal laugh*_

 _Well Readers, that's all for this week. Sorry again if the chapter was boring, I plan on spicing it up a lot more next chapter. Thanks again for stopping buy, and don't be afraid to follow, favorite, or leave a review! I hope you all have an amazing day, and just remember kiddies: Don't feed the Yao-Guai!_

 _-DovahCourier_


	11. Chapter 11 - (not so) Happy Trails!

_AN_ _: Hello again Readers, DovahCourier here! I am sorry for this chapter being a little late and about my odd upload schedule in general lately. Long story short, the school year is wrapping up, and teachers are giving us literal mountains of homework. Once summer starts, I should be able to get a set schedule set up for writing and posting chapters. Anyway, I hope you all like the chapter!_

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

 _I do not own RWBY or Fallout: New Vegas. RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth and New Vegas belongs to Obsidian Entertainment/Bethesda._

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

 **The Tale of Dust and Sand**

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Eleven: Happy Trails!

Blake slowly opened her eyes, the warm embrace of sleep losing its grip on the girl. She sat up slowly, looking around the room. _'What the hell happened last night?'_ Veronica's robe was hung over the door to the closet, Yang's armor was scattered around the room, and _F15T0's_ top and bottom halves were on opposite sides on the room. Blake began to roll out of bed, but quickly realized the only thing she had on was Cass' hat and the sheets embroidered with the _Lucky 38's_ logo. Blake grabbed a bathrobe from the suite's closet and walked out of the room.

Blake entered the kitchen, and was greeted by Liz, Cass and Yang sitting at the table, eating the remains of the previous evening's dinner. Yang heard her enter the room, and turned to greet her. "Mornin' kitty cat!"

Blake grunted in response, sitting down between Cass and Yang. Cass turned to face Blake, reaching for her hat. "I'll be taking that back, if you don't mi… oh." Cass took her hat back, but suddenly froze, staring at Blake's head with a mix of confusion and shock.

Blake looked at Cass, wondering what could have caused such a reaction. _'Is there something wrong with my hai- FUCK, MY EARS!'_ Blake panicked, quickly reaching up to check the top of her head. Sure enough, her feline ears were exposed for the entire room to see. Blake shot up to make for the door, but was stopped when Yang firmly grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back into the chair. "Blake, sit down. It's alright."

Blake tried to get up again, but was stopped by Liz moving to kneel next to her. "Blake, it's alright. We're not going to treat you any different because of a slight… mutation."

Before Blake could respond, Cass spoke up. "Yeah catnip, calm down! This isn't even the weirdest thing I've seen out in the wasteland." Blake raised an eyebrow, not buying the idea of anything weirder possibly existing in the wasteland. Cass took a sip of coffee, than continued. "Yeah Blake, this is maybe a six out of ten on the weird scale. One time, I saw a fat vault dweller, an escaped slave, and a ghoul walking down the highway, arguing over the fat one's Nuka addiction." Blake smirked, trying to hold a giggle back.

Liz raised an eyebrow, obviously unimpressed. "You call _that_ weird? Ha! One time, I asked this guy in power armor and his pet Eyebot for directions to New Reno and it turned into a four hour story about some guy with a tree growing out of his forehead." At that, Blake lost it and fell out of her chair, laughing. Liz stood up, smiling. "Alright, I'm gonna go see if Veronica is ready to leave yet." With that, she left the room.

Cass and Yang pulled Blake up off of the ground, giggling at the girl's reaction to the story. Blake turned to face Cass. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Cass took another swig of coffee before throwing the mug into the sink.

"Now, one last thing is bothering me…" Blake said, slight concern forming in her voice.

"What is it Blake?"

"Where is my bo-"

Before Blake could finish responding, Veronica barged into the room, bubbly as ever. "Good Morning!" She half said, half sang as she walked/skipped over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of Sunset. Blake immediately noticed the woman had her hair down, and was shocked to see it reached halfway down her back. She followed the black, silky hair up to Veronica's head, and noticed the woman was wearing…

"So, is anyone else coming with Liz and me to- UMPH" Veronica was interrupted by Blake tackling her and pinning her to the counter. Veronica prepared to defend herself, but stopped halfway through a punch when Blake reached up to Veronica's head, retrieving her bow from the brawler's head. "Oh yeah… sorry about that. Last night sure was one hell of a party, wasn't it?" Veronica said, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. Blake only threw a halfhearted growl at the woman before retying the bow on top of her own head, concealing her feline ears once more.

Liz walked into the room, duffle bag over her shoulder. "Ready to go, V?"

Veronica pulled her hair up into a bun before pulling her robe's hood up, concealing the dark, silky mane. "Yup! Let's get going!"

Veronica moved to leave the room, but was stopped by Blake placing a hand on her shoulder. "Where are you two headed?"

"Liz caught a radio signal from an abandoned Brotherhood bunker out east, and wants me to come investigate with her." Before Blake could ask about this 'Brotherhood', Veronica was out the door and down the hallway, dragging Liz by the coat behind her.

Yang was the first to shake off the shock of the moment. "Well… That was a thing. So, what do you ladies want to do?"

Blake sat back down, throwing her feet up on the table and leaning back in her chair. "It depends; where are the others?"

"Ruby and Weiss are still gone, probably taking the 'scenic route' home from the theatre, if you know what I mean." With that, Yang winked and poked Blake in the ribs with her elbow, grinning like an idiot.

Cass laughed, obviously liking the mental image Yang's joke had made. "Boone and the tin can left at the crack of dawn; probably went hunting or something."

Yang yawned. "Well, I'm bored. Anyone have any ideas what to do?"

Cass smirked. "We could try and put that damn robot back together, if anyone is up for another round."

Blake smirked at the memories of the night before, but shook her head. "No thanks, I don't think my hips could take it. What happened to it anyway?"

Yang blushed, guilt radiating from her expression. "Yeah, about that… it turns out ol' Fisto starts pulling hair after a while."

Cass stood up, putting a hand out. "Say no more. Well, if neither of you idiots can think of something else to do, I have an idea."

Yang looked up to the cowgirl, intrigued. "And what would that be?"

"An old caravan buddy of mine has a trip planned for New Canaan up north, and I'm pretty sure he leaves today. If you girls are interested, I'm pretty sure we'll get paid pretty damn well for a few days of lazy caravan work."

Yang looked at Blake, shrugged, and nodded. "Sure, let's get going."

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

A couple hours later, Cass, Blake and Yang had reached the mouth of a mineshaft leading into the face of a mountain, with a pair of Brahman tied to a fencepost next to the opening. Above the entrance was a large sign labeled _'Happy Trails Caravan workers needed: Inquire inside'_. Cass turned to face the others. "Alright, looks like we're here. Just stay back and let me do the talking." Blake and Yang nodded, and followed Cass into the mine.

Inside the mine, a small group of people were sitting around a campfire. One of the people turned his head to look at the new arrivals, and immediately grinned. "Cassidy, is that you?"

Cass smiled and threw her arms out. "In the flesh. How's it going, Jed?"

Jed stood up, moving in and giving Cass a friendly hug. "Eh, I can't complain. I heard about what happened to your caravan… sorry about that."

Yang saw Cass' eyes flash with anger for a moment, but it quickly subsided as the woman shrugged. "Eh, shit happens. Anyway, I got word that you guys have an expedition up to New Canaan, and I thought you could use a few more hands on deck."

Jed nodded and gestured towards the two people near the campfire. "Yeah, we were just getting ready to leave. You're welcome to join us as long as you're packing light enough to make the journey." With this last sentence, he looked at Yang's metal armor, a worried expression on his face.

Yang saw this, and retorted with a cocky grin. "Look bub, I may be a girl, but if I wanted to I could carry my gear, Blake's gear, One of the Brahman's packs, Cass when she's passed out drunk, and STILL have room to spare."

"Alright, alright; no need to get your armor in a twist. Glad to have the lot of you on board." He turned to face the other people by the campfire. "Alright guys, time to get going!"

A woman sitting by the fire stood up, picking up a laser rifle leaning against the wall and slinging it over her shoulder. "Finally! Zion, here we come!" With that, the group packed their gear, brought the Brahmin in from outside, and started walking up the tunnel.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

"Alright People. It's been a long couple days, but here we are: Zion." Yang stepped through a crevice and was greeted by a beautiful sight. The last five days ( _AN: I cut down on the travel time a little bit for reasons that will become clear later._ ) had been spent going from canyon to canyon, mountain to mountain, slowly making the way north with the caravan. Now, instead of another slot canyon or abandoned mineshaft, the group was greeted by the magnificent sight of Zion Canyon. Yang looked out, surprised by the amount of green compared to the Mojave. In the distance, she could see clear streams, massive rock spires, and long, twisting paths along cliff faces. _'Now THIS is one hell of an adventure!'_ She thought as she walked over to where the rest of the caravan was resting.

Jeb spoke up, addressing the entire group. "I know your feet hurt, and I know you're tired, but I need everyone's mind on the trail ahead."

The woman with the laser rifle, Stella, looked up at the canyon the group had just come through, a worried expression on her face. "It ain't the trail ahead that worries me. There is no way in hell we can make it back up those canyons."

Jeb groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. "Goddammit Stella I heard you the first time; and the fifteenth time, too. The New Canaanites know the way. And if they don't, our two friends here have Pip-Boys with maps on them." He turned to face the group. "Enough lollygagging! Get moving; and keep an eye out for tribals."

With that, the group grabbed their equipment and began walking along the path. Blake and Yang stuck to the back with Cass, while the Happy Trails members took the lead with the Brahman. Yang turned her head to look at Blake. "Well, one hell of a view, isn't it?"

Blake nodded. "It's beautiful. Reminds me of pictures Sun showed me of southern Vaccuo."

Cass looked at the duo, confused. "Vaccuo? Where the hell is that?"

Yang looked at Blake, eyebrow raised in an expression that just said 'you let it slip, you explain it.'

Blake moaned, exasperated, and turned to face Cass. "Cass… We aren't exactly… crap, how do I put this… We-"

Blake was cut off by a sudden gunshot and a scream farther down the path. Cass drew her shotgun, immediately charging in to see what was going on. Blake and Yang followed. As they got closer, Yang could tell something was wrong. There were gunshots, explosions, and panicked yells coming from the caravan. They reached the rest of the caravan, and were greeted with a terrifying sight.

Most of the caravan was already dead, blood and viscera splattered across the dirt beneath them. The only one left standing was Jeb, who was firing wildly at the side of a cliff. Blake followed the man's aim, and caught sight of what he was wildly firing at. At the top of the cliff was a group of men, wearing armor made from fur and leather. Each of the assailants was wilding either an SMG or a tomahawk constructed with scrap metal and wood.

Jeb turned to face the others. "RU-" The man's order was cut off by a tomahawk impacting with his face, shattering his skull.

Yang screamed, covering her mouth with her hands in an attempt to muffle the noise. Suddenly, a spray of bullets impacted the ground next to Yang, kicking up dust and sending gravel everywhere. Before she could react, Blake grabbed Yang by the collar and dragged her behind a fallen tree, forcing her behind the log. "STAY DOWN!" Yang complied, closing her eyes and getting as far under the log as she could.

Cass joined the two behind the cover, reloading her shotgun with a pair of slugs while she went. "Can I have one FUCKING caravan job that doesn't end in people dying?! Just one, please?"

Blake drew her pistol, taking aim at one of the attackers. She inhaled slowly, closing her eyes. _'It's in self-defense, it's in self-defense, it's in self-def-'_ Blake pulled the trigger, cutting off her train of thought. She opened her eyes, seeing the tribal she had fired at was now on the ground, dead, skull blown in half. Before she let her emotions get out of hand, she turned her gun, firing twice at another tribal. The shots caught the woman in the chest and neck, killing her instantly. Blake scanned the area, noticing that Cass had apparently killed the rest of their attackers.

Blake got up from behind the cover. "Cass, go see if there is anything left of the caravan." Cass nodded, running over to where the Happy Trails had met their end. Blake knelled down next to Yang, who was still hiding in the fetal position under the log, tears streaming out of her tightly closed eyes. Blake put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Yang, it's ok. They're gone now."

Yang slowly opened her eyes, relieved to just see Blake looking down at her. She uncurled from her ball, pulling herself out from underneath the log. She looked at Blake, noticing the girl had a look of fear in her eyes. Yang pulled Blake into a tight hug. "Thanks."

Blake pulled out of the hug. "Don't worry about it. What do you think friends are f-" Blake suddenly stopped speaking and fell forwards, unconscious. Yang quickly looked at her partner's back, noticing a feathered dart sticking out from the base of Blake's neck. Yang looked up, her gaze meeting a single tribal man holding a blowgun in one hand and a tomahawk in the other.

All feelings of fear and panic left Yang, replaced by pure rage. The girl jumped at the tribal man, tackling him to the ground. Before he could defend himself, Yang grabbed the man's weapons, throwing them out of his reach. The edges of her vision were filled with a red haze as she held the man down by the throat with her left hand, raising her right in a spiked-knuckle-clad fist. She brought her fist down, shattering the bridge of the man's nose and cracking the bone beneath with a sickening crack.

"DON'T."

 _*Crack*_

"YOU."

 _*Crack*_

"FUCKING."

 _*Crack*_

"TOUCH."

 _*Crack*_

"HER!"

 _*CRUNCH*_

With the last punch, Yang's fist went through the pulp that remained of the man's face, going all the way through and shattering the back of the man's skull. Yang didn't stop; she just kept punching, turning the man's head slowly into a puddle of bloody red goo. She only stopped when she felt Cass' hand on her shoulder, squeezing firmly. "YANG! Fuckin' hell, the guy's already dead!"

The red haze left the corners of her vision. Yang pulled her fist out of the mess that had become of the man's head. She looked down at her hand, seeing that it was coated in blood and grey matter. She felt... _cold_. For the first time in her life, Yang Xiao Long felt truly cold. She slowly uncurled her fist, feeling the warm blood drip from between her fingers onto the sun-baked earth below.

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Blake awoke with a start. She quickly checked her surroundings, finding that she was in a large cave, lying on a warm cot next to a campfire. She darted up, drawing the knife she kept hidden under her arm. She rolled out of the cot, knife at the ready, and began to head for the cave exit. She made it about three steps before she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She spun around; knife at the ready, but was quickly disarmed and thrown back onto the cot by… Yang.

"WHAT THE FUCK YANG!?" Blake yelled, irritated at the blonde for startling her. Yang only grinned and stepped forward, sitting down next to Blake and pulling the Faunus into a sideways hug. All of Blake's anger melted away, and she immediately leaned into the hug. Blake was surprised when she felt something wet hit her cheek, and pulled away from the hug, only to see that Yang was crying."Yang…"

Before Blake could continue, Yang started crying harder. "I…I… Was it this hard on you too?"

Blake raised an eyebrow, slightly confused at her friend's question. "What do you mean?"

Yang began crying even harder, pulling her knees to her chest. "The blood… So much blood…"

Blake's eyes widened, realizing what must have happened while she was knocked out. She immediately grabbed Yang by the shoulders, looking the panicking girl in the eyes. In Yang's eyes, Blake saw the one thing she would never expect from the brawler: She saw pure fear. _'Fuck... what do I do?'_ Blake looked around the room, looking for something to calm Yang, who had begun to fall into a full blown panic attack.

As a last resort, Blake pulled Yang into a hug, putting her lips next to the girl's ear. "Shh... It's ok... it's ok..." Blake began to slowly rock Yang back and forth, whispering softly in an attempt to calm her down. Ten minutes later, Yang uncurled from her ball, slowly pushing Blake off of her as she went. She turned to speak to her raven-haired teammate, but stopped when she saw Cass enter the cavern.

The cowgirl walked over and sat down on the cot between the two. "Glad to see you awake, Blake. How are you two holding up?"

Yang only threw up a halfhearted thumbs-up, obviously still distressed. Cass looked the girl up and down, frowning. She pulled a bottle of whisky out of her coat, handing it to the blonde. Yang kindly accepted the bottle, downing half of its contents before Cass took the bottle back. "Hey, just because I'm feeling kind doesn't mean you can have all of my damn whisky." The woman turned to face Blake, leaning in to whisper to the girl. "I'm going to stay here with Yang, calm her down a bit. Our host is waiting to meet you upstairs; just go out the door and take a right." Blake tried to ask Cass to clarify the situation, but was interrupted by Yang beginning to sob once more. Cass pulled the depressed blonde closer, handing her another bottle of whisky. Blake stood up, patted Yang on the shoulder, and left the cavern.

Blake followed Cass' directions, walking up a tunnel into another cave, this one slightly larger than the one she had woken up in. The room was lined with shelves filled with scrap metal and gun parts. In the center of the room was a wooden table covered in handguns, with a man sitting behind it, face obscured by shadow. The man looked up from one of the handguns he was working on, looking at Blake. Blake got a better view of the man, and was shocked by what she saw. The man's entire head was wrapped in aged bandages, save a small opening for his eyes.

The man slid the action back on the handgun, placing the weapon in the middle of the table. The man spoke up, his gravely voice showing a mix of age and experience. "Hello, Ms. Belladonna; I am Joshua Graham, and I would like to welcome you to Zion Canyon."

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 _AN_ _: Well, that was an interesting chapter. Sorry if it was a bit short, I have been busy with school and family stuff lately. I would like to say that I am deeply sorry for the odd upload rate lately, and plan on setting up a more constant upload schedule once I get my hands on a laptop for the summer. Now, for the fun part of these ANs: the review responses! (PS; any guests please use a name other than 'guest' so it's easier to discriminate between different reviews. Thx!)_

 _Roach99_ _: I wasn't planning on having a Kellogg reference because he has been working in the Commonwealth for at least 57 years at this point in time in the Fallout universe, so most traces of the man in the west would likely be gone by this point. As for the holotape thing; Thanks for the idea, but I am not including it for reasons that will become evident later._

 _Guest: Thank you for understanding. Feel free to throw any ideas into either a review or a PM and I'll check them out. As for JNPR, I do not plan on having them show up in the wasteland due to A) I cannot write for that many characters at once, and B) I plan on having them do their own thing in the background in a separate fic I have been considering for a while and might start over the summer._

 _Captaindickscratcher_ _: Don't worry, it's not too evil of an idea, just a small scene I have in mind for the next chapter. While I can see Ruby becoming a McCree-style gunslinger (I have been watching WAY too much of the Overwatch beta gameplay lately), I mostly intend on having Liz become the most 'western' out of the group (well, second most western to Cass anyway). I'm probably not giving the others bikes, but I have a few ideas that should make the current ones a bit more exciting. Thank you for another review, and you are correct, I did not expect the Spanish Inquisition. I respond to them by throwing The Holy Hand Grenade on the count of three. One… two… fiv- three!_

 _Cole Tyger_ _: Well, glad to know I have a reader hooked! I don't plan on having anything to drastic happen in the story, just going to have the team join the legion and murder the Courier and her party… *Obvious sarcasm is obvious*. The body switch thing was an accident actually; I was very tired when I was writing the balcony scene and accidently switched their names a couple times, so I decided to roll with it and see if it got me anywhere. I considered making the heart joke, but Ruby is too good of a friend to do that. Yang on the other hand… *evil giggle* I decided to mix the Mysterious Stranger up a bit and see If I could give them a story, and I am glad it's working so far. Don't worry about the K-9000 being useless, Ruby will be using it as soon as the duo get their brains switched back eventually. I was planning on having MFC grenades/clusters come in, and I do have a plan on where to have Ruby get the schematics. Glad you liked it, and thanks for reading!_

 _Guest: Go ahead and speculate on who the Mysterious Stranger is, I am not telling… yet._

 _On Soaring Wings_ _: Weiss could try, but Ruby is going to love Toasty too much to let Weiss kill him._

 _Mandalore the freedom_ _: We PMd about the things brought up in this review already, and thanks again for another great review!_

 _Before I go, I have a couple more things to say. Thanks to a few IRL friends who have read the story, I noticed that I may not have developed/described Liz enough for her to seem special. Here is the easiest way to describe her in a nutshell: Combine Clint Eastwood (Badass ranger vibe/loadout), Ichigo from Bleach (Cockiness, wittiness and sword skills), and Liam Neason ('don't fuck with me if you want to live' vibe when pissed). Now take that combination, and give her a body that is similar in build to Diva from Overwatch, only a bit taller/leaner, slightly less busty, a couple of bullet scars on the temple and lower forehead, and black/purple hair pulled back into a ponytail. That is about the best description I can give of her for those who I have left confused, and I hope it was helpful with anyone having trouble with the mental image of our Courier 6._

 _I have just checked the poll for what final New Vegas companion to add to the mix, and it looks like Raul is in the lead, with Arcade only one vote behind, and Lilly in last with absolutely zero. I am collecting the poll on Saturday, so please go and leave a vote before then if you can, as it is greatly appreciated!_

 _Thanks again Readers for making this story possible, and I will see you all in the next chapter. Just remember kiddies; don't feed the Yao-Guai!_

 _-DovahCourier_


	12. Chapter 12 - Toasters and Deathclaws

_AN_ _: Hello again Readers, DovahCourier here! I am glad to say that this chapter was an absolute blast to write, and I hope you all like it as much as I did writing it!_

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 _I do not own RWBY or Fallout: New Vegas. RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth and New Vegas belongs to Obsidian Entertainment/Bethesda._

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 **The Tale of Dust and Sand**

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Twelve: Scorpions, Toasters and Deathclaws (Oh My!)

Weiss awoke with a start. She scanned her surroundings, realizing she was still in the Sink's bedroom. _'Well damn… I guess it wasn't all just a bad dream.'_ She pulled herself out of bed, noticing Ruby was already gone. Weiss stretched and yawned before thumbing through her Pip-Boy, looking for something to wear. She noticed her only options were the hospital gown from the night before, the armored vault suit Ruby wore everywhere, and a set of PJs with the _Lucky 38's_ logo on the back. Weiss selected the vault suit, and closed her eyes as she was absorbed in a bright green flash. She looked down, impressed by how well the suit fit Ruby's young body. _'No wonder Ruby likes wearing this thing… it's so cozy!'_ With that, Weiss made the bed and left the bedroom.

Weiss walked into the Sink's central room, not at all surprised to see that Ruby was already awake and working at one of the room's workbenches. She noted the girl had found a bulky set of headphones somewhere and had linked them to her Pip-Boy, putting her in her own little personal bubble of gunpowder, lead and music. Weiss shrugged, and went to pour some coffee from the pot in the corner of the room, which Ruby had already prepared.

Weiss was halfway through pouring the liquid into a mug when Ruby suddenly squeaked in pain. Weiss quickly put the coffee pot down, darting over to where her partner was standing at the workbench. "Ruby, are you alright?"

Ruby looked up from the workbench, noticing Weiss for the first time. "Good morning Weiss! Yeah, I'm ok… just chipped another nail."

Weiss just shrugged it off, before realizing it wasn't Ruby's nail that had been chipped. She panicked, quickly grabbing Ruby's wrists and looking at her hands. _'Oh dust… what has she done?'_ Ruby's hands ( _AN: well, Weiss' hands… bloody hell this is confusing_ ) were covered in gun oil, grease, burns, and dozens of cuts and scrapes. She only had nine and a half nails left; the left ring finger's apparently ripped off about a centimeter below the fingertip, and the remaining ones were cracked, chipped, and burnt. Weiss looked at Ruby sternly, anger flashing into her eyes. "What the hell have you done to my hands?!"

Ruby looked at the girl, confused, before realizing what she meant. "Sorry about that, I was working on a little gift for you and forgot I wasn't exactly using my own hands."

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head slowly. "Well, you forgetful dolt, try and remember who's body you are in until we can… wait, a gift?"

Ruby's expression quickly flashed from guilt to excitement. She turned to face the workbench, picking something up off of it and hiding it behind her back. "Well… I know you have your laser tommygun and that sound-thingy, but I thought you could use something with a bit more… bang; So, I threw together these:" With that, Ruby brought her hands out from behind her back.

In her left hand was what looked to be a micro-fusion cell, similar to those Weiss used to load her RCW ( _AN: I am having the Fallout 4 ammo system for plasma/laser weapons (Plasma cartridges/Micro-fusion cells for all plasma and laser weapons), just because it makes everything a bit simpler)_. The only difference between a normal cell and this one was that this one had an odd attachment on one end, making the device look almost like a grenade. In Ruby's right hand sat what looked like almost a dozen of the grenades strung together and attached to a few sensors.

Ruby handed the smaller grenade to Weiss, a grin of pride on her face. "I screwed up a couple times and had a few of them go off in my hand. Thank goodness I hadn't attached the blast enhancer yet. You see, you just press the button down on top and throw it. The attachment breaks the safety seal inside of the cell and allows it to detonate, multiplying the released energy exponentially."

Weiss nodded, tossing the small weapon from hand to hand. "What does the bigger one do?"

Ruby grinned evilly. "You'll just have to wait and see."

Weiss just shrugged the comment off; afraid of what would happen if she dug any deeper. "So, what's first on today's agenda?"

Ruby looked down at her Pip-Boy for a moment, checking the map before responding. "Well… I had an idea for how we could have a little fun."

' _Uh oh.'_ "What did you have in mind, Ruby?"

"Well, if the notes here are correct, there are nine holotapes scattered around the crater. If we each were to take half, I'll take the extra one, we could split up and make it a race; first one to collect all of their holotapes wins!"

Weiss considered it for a moment, before looking Ruby in the eyes, cocky smile forming on her lips. "Challenge accepted."

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A few hours later, Weiss was beginning to regret her decision to take up Ruby's challenge. _'Why do I always let my ego get in the way of common sense?!'_ She looked over her shoulder, noticing her pursuers were still following her. The… things had been following her since she had left an abandoned train tunnel carrying a holotape labeled 'LS_2'. At a glance, they looked like men wearing space suits, but a further investigation quickly debunked that theory.

Inside of each suit was a skeleton, the bones bleached from age. Weiss noticed it didn't look like the skeleton was controlling the suit; rather the suits were only dragging the ancient bones along with them. While this in itself was terrifying, it was not the reason Weiss was running away from the group of suits. She was running because each suit was currently sprinting after her at full tilt, firing wildly with plasma rifles in her general direction.

Weiss attempted to dodge a plasma bolt, wincing as it grazed her side, leaving a shallow burn. She was glad Ruby's body had gotten its spine replaced, boosting her overall speed and endurance, or else she would have long since been overrun by her pursuers. She dodged another incoming ball of plasma, this one coming close enough to her head for her to smell the ozone. She kept running, noticing a partially collapsed building ahead of her. She looked over her shoulder noting that her pursuers were closing in on her quickly.

Weiss looked down at her Pip-Boy for a moment, inputting a few commands before one of the grenades Ruby had made appeared in her hand. _'Well, it's now or never…'_ Weiss pressed the button down, tossing the device behind her. She reached the building and vaulted over a half collapsed wall, looking back just in time to see the device hit the ground between her three pursuers. A half second later, the air around the suits crackled with ozone as they were absorbed in a ball of molten plasma.

Weiss saw her work, and did the last thing she expected herself to do in the current situation; she began to laugh, a near-maniac grin forming on her face. _'I can get used to this! Now, where am I?'_ Weiss looked around the building, noticing the only thing left standing was a couple of walls and a set of stairs to the second floor. She climbed the steps, sitting down on a ledge when she reached the top. She looked at her Pip-Boy, going through its contents while speaking to herself out loud. "Alright… Light Switch one and two… check and check. Auto-Doc… check. Jukebox… check. Alright, looks like all I need to do is get back to the tower."

With this, Weiss stood up and began walking down the steps again, but stopped halfway down. She looked to the corner of the top-floor room, noticing something leaning against the wall. She approached the corner, and picked up a massive sniper rifle.

The weapon was surprisingly light and obviously very well maintained. There was a large suppressor on the end of the barrel, the name 'Christine' stenciled onto the attachment in red lettering. On the rifle's stock were the letters 'CoS', also in red. Weiss loaded the beast into her Pip-Boy, saving it for later. With that, she climbed back down the stairs, aimed herself in the direction of the Sink, and began walking once more.

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Ruby grunted as she pulled herself up another rock. _'Ugh! Weiss, you REALLY need to work on your upper body strength!'_ She crested the final boulder, hauling herself up and over to land in front of the mouth of a dark cavern. She looked down at her Pip-Boy, relieved when she saw this was her final stop. _'Alright, this should be where the toaster is hidden.'_ Ruby drew her weathered 10mm and activated her Pip-Boy's light, slowly making her way into the cavern.

As ruby entered the cave, she immediately noticed it was very, very cold. She shivered, Weiss' light leather armor and her cloak doing very little to keep her warm. She looked around the room, and noticed it seemed to be filled with a miscellaneous collection of junk. Trash bins, car parts, even a few fridges were scattered all around the cavern. She made her way around a large pillar in the center of the cavern, and was met with a very… interesting sight.

She immediately saw the holotape, the words on the label replaced with the image of a mushroom cloud, sitting on a shelf. Around the tape sat dozens of toasters; all of them just sitting there, left to rust in an improvised shrine. Ruby shrugged off the sight, grabbed the holotape and loaded it into her Pip-Boy. She turned around, ready to leave the cavern, but froze when she saw someone was blocking her path. _'Aw fudge.'_

In front of Ruby stood a man, wearing only a hospital gown and a burlap sack attached to a set of goggles, covering the man's face. In his hands was a long metal pole, with what looked to be a tesla coil attached to one end. Ruby put her hands up slowly, attempting to show that she was not a threat. "Hello there. I was just leaving, so if you could move out of the way so I could get by-"

Ruby was cut off by the man growling angrily and moving forward, forcing her into the corner with the toaster shrine. The man growled again, and two more of the things came out from behind him, taking positions on his flanks. The one on the left had a fist-based gauntlet weapon very similar to Veronica's, only it was a deep blue instead of chrome. The one on the right had what looked like a normal kitchen knife, only the blade seemed to be made of the same material as the other one's fist weapon.

Ruby realized that these things, despite their outward appearance, were definitely not human. The one in the center stepped forward, the coil on the end of his staff flashing and emitting a halberd-style blade of purple energy. Ruby drew her pistol, lining up a shot on the one in the center. She didn't realize she had slipped into VATS until after she pulled the trigger, time quickly snapping back to normal as the thing's head was blown apart. Ruby ignored the dead creature, still attempting to convince herself it wasn't human, and lined up another shot on the one with the knife. She pulled the trigger, but was only met with a muffled click and a sharp pain in the back of her head. She looked down and realized Weiss' ponytail had gotten caught in the weapon's slide, jamming it. _'Good job Weiss, your perfect hair just got me killed.'_

Ruby threw her arms up in an attempt to block the knife wielder's attack, but was surprised when she didn't feel the creature land on her. She opened her eyes and looked up in time to see the outline of a figure in a trench coat disappear in a blue flash with a crackle of electricity. She looked around, noticing the two remaining things were dead, skulls blown in half by a point-blank shot to the face. Ruby collected their weapons for later, and noticed there was a new holotape on the ground next to one of the creatures. She picked it up, storing it for later. Ruby than pulled Weiss' hair out of her pistol's receiver, stored the weapon in her holster, and left the cavern.

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An hour later, Ruby exited the elevator and walked into the Sink's living room. The table spoke up in its cheerful accent. "Hello again good sir. I am glad to see you have arrived safely. I am sorry to say, but your partner arrived about half an hour ago, so you have lost your little competition."

Ruby cursed under her breath, disappointed that Weiss had managed to outperform her. She walked up to the table, placing the holotape she had recovered from the cave on the table. "Analyze." The tape's contents were projected onto a holographical screen, showing a list of text logs. Most were corrupted, but a few were still clean enough to read. Ruby opened the first entry.

 _Log Entry: 10/23/2165_

 _Well, that was one hell of an adventure. The Vault Dweller I locked onto back in '61 has managed to not only save his vault, but the entire wasteland too. Too bad those bastards over in Vault 13 kicked him out, saying he was 'contaminated' or some other bullshit. Last time I checked on him, he started setting up a little village with a few deserters from 13; Arroyo. Hopefully, he can live out the rest of his days in peace; God knows he deserves it._

 _Apparently, I have developed a bit of a reputation too. People who have seen me flashing in to help ol' VD have taken to referring to me as the 'Mysterious Stranger'. I like it; it just… fits. I can't explain it, I just feel like the title works._

 _I have decided to go into cryo here at the MT for the time being. I have my Pip-Boy set up so it will wake me up next time another Pip is detected, so I don't expect to be out for too long. I've never really been one for naps, but I think I need to rest._

Ruby noticed the next few logs were corrupted, but there were three more that the computer could read. She opened the first one.

 _Log Entry: 07/27/2241_

 _Well, I woke up today. Seventy-six years… that was one hell of a nap. I have just checked my Pip-Boy, and apparently ol' VD's Pip has been powered up and is on the move. The funny thing is, the coordinates line up exactly with where Arroyo is… I guess it's time to see where the wasteland takes me next._

 _Log Entry: 09/06/2242_

 _Well, if the Vault Dweller was crazy, I have no fucking clue what to call this insane bitch. Apparently, VD's granddaughter picked up her grandfather's knack for suicidal adventure. This 'Chosen One' as the people in Arroyo labeled the tornado of a woman, has managed to make her grandfather's adventure look like a circle of grandmas knitting. Hell, the woman managed to nuke an oil rig full of Enclave troops! All I am going to say about this adventure is: the image of an angry blonde woman in a vault suit trying to fit a super mutant, an android, and an albino deathclaw into the back seat of a Highwayman will be in my head for years to come. Now, back into cryo sleep until the wasteland calls once more._

 _Log Entry: 08/17/2277_

 _I have been awake from cryo for about a month now. The think tank and I have finally managed to get my bullhead working, and it is now running off of fusion cores instead of dust. Just in time too; apparently, the remains of the Enclave are headed out east in a swarm of vertibirds, and I have picked up another Pip-Boy signal coming from the ruins of DC. I've loaded the bullhead with my equipment, and will be departing in a few minutes._

 _It has been fun here in the west, but the Capital Wasteland is calling!_

Ruby looked over the logs with wonder, impressed by a single huntsman/huntress' ability to impact the wasteland so much. She closed the data, storing the holotape in her Pip-Boy. _'Wow, I better show this to Wei- hey, where IS Weiss?'_

Ruby looked from room to room, trying to find her partner. She almost gave up, when she heard noise coming from the restroom. Ruby crept up to the door of the room, cracking it open silently. Inside of the room was a half-naked Weiss, staring at herself in a mirror while talking out loud to nobody in particular. "…she's two years younger than me for crying out loud! How are they so large and firm, yet so soft and-"

"Weiss…what are you doing?"

Weiss panicked, startled by Ruby's sudden entrance into the room. "NOTHING! I SWEAR I WASN"T DOING ANYTHING!" The girl grabbed a towel from the counter, covering herself up before turning around.

Ruby could see Weiss was blushing hard enough to rival Ruby's own cloak. "Sorry Weiss! I'll just… let you finish whatever you were doing." With that, Ruby closed the door, not wanting to embarrass Weiss any further.

Ruby walked into the kitchen, throwing the stack of AI holotapes on the table next to the toaster. She picked up the holotape with the mushroom cloud on the label, flipping it in her hand. She looked around the device, not finding a slot for the tape to go, before having a crazy idea. She put the tape into the toaster's bread slot and pressed down on the device's leaver.

Ruby didn't expect the stupid attempt at loading the thing to work, so she was startled when the Toaster began to shake, heating coils glowing from red to blue to white-hot. "AHAHAHA! I AM ONLINE ONCE AGAIN! TREMBLE, WORLD, BEFORE MY ELECTRIC HEATING COIL OF DOOM!"

At this, Ruby laughed so hard her sides cramped up. "HA! Tremble? You are aware you are a freaking TOASTER, correct?"

"A TOASTER IS JUST A DEATH RAY WITH A SMALLER POWER SUPPLY! As soon as I find a way to tap into the main reactors, I will burn the world!"

Ruby put her hands up defensively. "Look out; we got a badass over here!" She exclaimed, voice dripping with sarcasm.

The little chrome box was apparently offended by this. "Look buddy, if my heating element were just a little bigger, you would be ON FIRE right now!"

' _So, the 'be like Yang' approach isn't going to work here… let's try being friendly.'_ "Why all the rage?"

"Have you ever tried to indulge an all-consuming urge to KILL when all you have is a fucking BREAD SLOT!? You'd have a lot of pent-up anger too."

Ruby only grinned a little, getting more and more entertained buy this little thing by the second. "Can I ask you a few things?"

"Well, since I can't kill you, I guess I have to listen to your questions."

"I'm almost afraid to ask, but what exactly do you do?"

"YOU SHOULD BE AFRAID! I am the scourge of all small appliances and the bogeyman that keeps lesser toasters awake at night!"

Ruby laughed at this; surprised something so small could be so sadistic. "So… you murder toasters?"

"I tear them apart and render them to your base components! Once their guts are spilled, you can do with them what you like." With this, the Toaster turned off for a moment, his coils darkening, before springing back to life, tiny flames emitting from his bread slot. "Yes! Soon my work will be complete! Soon, the world will burn in nuclear fire!"

"You know the world already burned, right?"

"SOON I WILL- What? It… It did?"

"Yeah, it did… a couple centuries ago, actually." Ruby deadpanned, hoping she wouldn't need to fight off an angry kitchen appliance.

The Toaster immediately sounded disheartened, like a kid who found out Santa wasn't real. "Really? Well… fuck. That puts a damper on the Toaster's mood." The Toaster perked up once more. "Oh well, no use crying over spilled Armageddon… where was I? Oh, right. Soon the world will burn in nuclear fire… again!"

Ruby chuckled. "Alright, that's enough. What else do you do?"

The toaster vibrated on the table, obviously excited about something. "You want some weapon schematics? I can show you some fucking weapon schematics! You want a superheated Saturnite Power Fist? I can hook that shit up!"

Ruby activated her Pip-Boy, taking out the fist and knife from her earlier fight. "Can you heat these up?"

The Toaster laughed sadistically. "'Can you heat these up?' What do I look like, a fucking blender?! YES I CAN HEAT THOSE UP! Just put them on the table and give me about ten minutes." Ruby complied, putting the weapons on the table and backing up. Immediately, the table begat to glow red hot, heating the weapons on its surface.

Ruby walked out of the room, deciding it would be best to leave her new friend to do his work. She walked into the living room, noticing Weiss had finished in the bathroom and was now sitting on the edge of the table in the set of PJs Ruby had taken from the _38_. Weiss saw Ruby and got up, walking over to the girl. Ruby could tell Weiss was excited about something, but she couldn't tell what. "Ruby, guess what!"

"What is it Weiss?" Ruby asked, surprised the heiress was capable of such excitement.

"I reinstalled the Auto-Doc's AI! We can switch brains back now!" Weiss jumped for joy, grabbing Ruby by the wrist and dragging her over to a large cabinet with a medical symbol painted on the door.

Ruby expected it to start talking, but was surprised when it didn't. "Why is it quiet?"

"I had Central deactivate his personality temporarily, to avoid any complications during the procedure. Now, all we need to do is get in the thing."

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Both of us? It seems a bit… cramped."

Weiss just shrugged. "It will be worth the awkward positioning for a few moments. Now, let's get this over with!" With that, Weiss shoved Ruby into the Auto-Doc, closing the door behind them.

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Ruby slowly opened her eyes. She looked around, realizing she was back in bed in the sink's bedroom. She attempted to slide out of bed, but was interrupted by a light tugging feeling on her shoulder from the other side of the bed. She turned her head to see Weiss, back in her own body, fast asleep with an arm outstretched, holding Ruby in place. Ruby sighed in relief, happy the procedure had been a success. She smiled at how beautiful Weiss looked when she was asleep, taking in the girl's delicate yet strong form. She slowly grabbed Weiss' sleeve, lifting the arm and lowering it next to Weiss' head. She slipped out of bed, jumped into her vault suit, and headed to the elevator, wanting to get some fresh air to wake up.

An hour later, Ruby was lying on a large flat rock on the northern edge of the crater, taking pot-shots at passing bloatflys and geckos. There was no light, save for that of the stars and moon. She was about to line up a shot that would knock out three of the damn flies at once, but stopped when she saw something move in the corner of her eye. She lowered her rifle, looking at what looked like the outline of a man wearing a dark cloak, walking towards her. She stood up, keeping her rifle ready, and approached the man.

Once she got within a few feet of the man, Ruby realized he was much larger than she initially thought. He stood at least eight feet tall, and apparently had a slight slouch, which meant he was almost ten feet tall. He wore a long, tattered brown cloak that covered his entire body and blocked his face from view. Ruby decided to break the ice, see if she could discover the man's motives. "Hello there! Who are you?"

The man chuckled for a moment before speaking up, his voice deep and gravelly. "Hello young one. If I may ask, where exactly did you get that suit?"

"I got it from a friend in Goodsprings." Ruby responded, slightly confused by how specific the question was. "Why do you ask?"

The man just laughed again, only confusing the girl more. "No reason… I just haven't seen that suit in a very, very long time. Now, onto your question; I am known by many people as many different things. To some, I was kin. To many, I am an enemy. To a select few, I was a friend. To myself, I am merely known as-" The man was cut off by a sudden clang from behind him. Ruby looked around the figure, seeing a trio mechanical scorpions charging at the duo at top speed. Ruby took aim with her rifle, but didn't even get the chance to fire off a shot before the cloaked figure leapt into action. He grabbed his cloak, tearing it away and revealing his true form.

Ruby was shocked. Instead of armor or skin, she saw a wall of pure white scales, worn and scarred from years of wasteland life. She saw blood red eyes, shining from both experience and rage. She saw massive arms, thick as her torso, ending in hands with claws that would make a daggersmith cry from joy. She saw a pair of two foot long horns, with one broken off about half a foot before the tip. She saw a tail, thick and muscular enough to flip a car with little effort. What she saw was no man. What she saw was a creature sent from hell itself. She was looking at an angry albino deathclaw.

The creature grabbed the first scorpion by the tail, swinging it overhead like a flail. The scorpion impacted a second one, destroying both instantaneously. The final scorpion began to back away, but the retreat was pointless. The deathclaw stomped down on the robot's head, pinning it to the ground. It proceeded to grab the tail with one hand, pulling the appendage hard enough to rip the machine in half. The deathclaw threw the two halves of the destroyed robot away, discarding them like parts of a broken toy. It reared its head up, letting loose an animalistic roar that Ruby was sure they could hear all the way back in the Mojave.

The thing turned to face Ruby, the deathclaw equivalent of a cocky grin forming on the creature's face. "You asked for my name… well, I shall tell you. I am Goris."

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 _AN_ _: Well, that was a fun chapter. Now, for a few Review Responses:_

 _Roach99_ _: Trust me; I feel your pain when it comes to Dead Money. Once, I stayed up all night to finish it, and only got about an hour of sleep. Also, my alarm clock sounds like the bomb collar about half a second before it goes off, so yeah… bad combination. As for Lonesome Road, that is the courier's journey and hers alone… so I will send Liz on that later. Thanks again for reading!_

 _Mandalore the freedom_ _: We already PM'd talking about this review. Thanks again for the help!_

 _Captaindickscratcher_ _: *slow clap* Nice entrance. As for the Blake thing, I agree she really just fits the vibe for the Honest Hearts story, so sending her, Yang and Cass was an obvious choice. I have a plan for the ghost of She, so don't worry about that. As for the Liz description, sorry about the typo, apparently FF reads Diva's name when spelled with a dot as a link, and deleted the word as spam. Thanks again for the review, and have a nice day!_

 _Allard-Liao:_ _While Zion is relatively clean of radiation, the earth itself is so irradiated that all Semblance usage is completely eradicated (it's like an ULTRA sensitive allergy; any minor trace of the stuff leads to the abilities nullification). As for the Liz thing, just picture the combination of a NCR ranger and an angry Samurai with a cocky attitude and a lean-yet-still-strong, 6'something tall body. That is the best way I can describe her._

 _Shaneman17_ _: Both Joshua and Blake have done things very wrong in their pasts, and have been able to move on from it. This will either be the start of a great friendship, or a blood-soaked rivalry (I still haven't decided yet). I am probably not going to add Roxie the cyberdog, but this is only because I have a plan involving Rex in a later chapter._

 _I collected the poll for what companion to add, and it looks like Raul is joining the party! I may include the other remaining companions (Lilly/Arcade), but probably won't have them join the courier's party._

 _I may be taking a small break from the story late next week, and it is_ _definitely_ _not because Far Harbor is launching for Fallout 4 (Obvious sarcasm is obvious). So if I don't get a chapter out in the days immediately after May 19_ _th_ _, it is just because I am playing around with Point Lookout Mk2._

 _Well Readers, that's all for now. Make sure to have an amazing day, and just remember; don't feed the Yao-Guai!_

 _-DovahCourier_


	13. Chapter 13 - UnBEARable

_AN_ _: Hello again Readers, DovahCourier here! Well… What the hell are you all doing up here? The chapter is down there, silly! Have fun reading!_

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 _I do not own RWBY or Fallout: New Vegas. RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth and New Vegas belongs to Obsidian Entertainment/Bethesda._

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 **The Tale of Dust and Sand**

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Thirteen: Un _bear_ able

Yang chuckled. "So there we were, surrounded by Grimm, ready to hold our ground to the bitter end; and suddenly BAM! Nora flies in out of nowhere and brings a new meaning to the term 'bring the hammer down'. Next thing we knew, we had driven the Grimm back and Torchwick was in Atlas custody. A couple weeks of vacation and a flight accident later, we end up crashing outside of Goodsprings."

Cass nodded, raising her jug of moonshine above her head. "Now that is one hell of a tale." The cowgirl raised the jug to her lips, taking a swig. Cass, Yang and Blake were sitting under the stars at a campfire outside of the Dead Horses camp, joined by their host Joshua Graham. Yang and Blake had just finished telling the story of Remnant, covering everything from Dust and Grimm, to Semblance and Aura, to a few of team RWBY's shenanigans while at Beacon.

Joshua spoke up. "Indeed, you sure have experienced a lot for girls so young. I only have one question." Yang only nodded, giving the man permission to proceed. "Well, you mentioned a group you had encountered, the 'White Fang'. What do you know of this group?"

At this, Blake immediately tensed up, memories flying through her mind. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists, doing her best not to snap in front of her host. Yang saw the red flags flying up, and attempted to redirect Joshua's question, but the trigger was already pulled. Blake's eyes flew open, the amber spheres locking onto Joshua. "They are an honorable cause, misguided by dishonorable leaders. They started with peaceful rallies for equality, but that changed. Rallies turned into riots. Riots turned into fights. Fights turned into terrorism." Blake hesitated slightly before continuing. "Before I left the group, I was forced into one more attack; a train heist. My partner and I…disagreed on a few things during the operation. Push came to shove, and I ran with my tail between my legs like a coward." Sensing what was coming next, Blake put a finger over Yang's mouth. "Not literally; only ears here, nothing back there."

Joshua nodded, expressing the last thing Blake would expect to receive: Respect. "It is always smart to know when to quit. I wish I had."

Yang tilted her head, confused. "What do you mean?"

Joshua only shook his head, as if trying to prevent a memory from coming up. "Where do I start… what do you three know of Caesar and his Legion?"

Blake's hand slowly drifted to the pistol at her side, her teeth clenching. "What about them?"

Joshua only sighed, leaning in closer to the fire. "Have you heard the story of the Burned Man?"

Blake and Yang shook their heads, confused. Cass only nodded. "I know the rough version of the story, but you should probably tell it."

Joshua sat up, taking his pistol out of his holster and beginning to take it apart subconsciously. "Once, Caesar had his most trusted advisor and friend: The Malpais Legate. The man was an embodiment of the Devil himself. Together, he and Caesar formed the Legion, forcefully uniting dozens of tribes under the banner of Caesar, killing all in their way. Then, there was the battle for Hoover Dam. The Legate led the Legion to an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the NCR at the dam, and Caesar needed to show his men that failure was unacceptable… regardless of rank."

Joshua shuddered slightly, as if a chill had gone down his spine. "The legate was coated in pitch, lit ablaze, and thrown into the Grand Canyon. Most believe he died there, but tribal legends describe a man, covered in burns, hauling himself out of the canyon, alive and well."

Blake and Yang stared at the man, shocked once again by the pure brutality of the Legion. Before either of them could ask questions, Joshua raised a finger, silencing them. "That is where the story ends for most, but I know the rest of the Legate's tale. The Legate did climb out of the canyon, but was not a spirit on the way to haunt Caesar. The Legate was a changed man, literally baptized by fire. He made the agonizing three-month long journey back to his home of New Canaan, where he was accepted again as if he had done nothing wrong. This… was a mistake. The White Legs, a tribe sent by Caesar to hunt and kill the Legate, found him there. The town was razed, leaving only about thirty or so scattered survivors. The Legate escaped once more, making his way back west to Zion."

Blake could see where this was going. She drew her pistol, aiming at Joshua. "Give me one good reason not to blow your head off right here, right now."

Joshua only looked at Blake, his icy stare catching her off guard. "Because that would make you the worst kind of hypocrite possible. We are more similar than you think, Blake."

Blake looked at Joshua with disgust. "I am _nothing_ like you."

"Are we really that different, Blake? Let me see… We both were parts of a frowned upon organization. We both ended up in the upper ranks of said organization. We both were betrayed by those we once saw as friends, and we both now hold vendettas against those responsible for our pain. There may be a few differences between us, but it is impossible to deny the strong connections. We are both changed individuals, willing to do anything to make up for our past mistakes. We are siblings not in blood, but in story, we may as well be twins." Joshua's bandages shifted slightly, indicating a slight smile.

Blake was shocked at how right the man was. She lowered her pistol, holstering the weapon at her hip. Joshua picked up his bottle of water, raising it above his head. "A toast; to the betrayed, to the changed, and to the reborn."

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Yang slowly woke up, the warm veil of sleep lifting itself away. She looked around, realizing she was in Blake's cot in the back of Angel Cave. She began to sit up, but felt something warm stir from beneath her as she did. She looked down, realizing she had fallen asleep in bed with Blake. The girl in question stirred for a moment, before cracking an eye open and locking her gaze with Yang. "Mornin' Fireball."

Yang grinned, looking down at her friend. "Wait… Did we have…"

Blake only smiled back, shrugging. "I honestly can't remember anything past midnight…" Blake pulled herself into a sitting position next to Yang, putting her head on the blonde's shoulder. Blake leaned in closer, whispering softly. "…and I think I'm ok with that mystery."

Yang pulled Blake into a sideways hug, laughing as she did. The two sat there for a moment, merely enjoying each other's embrace, before Cass walked into the cave, grinning like an idiot. "Alright lovebirds, break it up. We need to get moving."

Yang untangled herself from Blake. "Where are we going?"

Cass opened her mouth to speak up, but was cut off by Joshua entering the cave behind her. "I know another man from New Canaan, Daniel, who has made many maps of the area. He could be the key to you getting home to the Mojave. The bad news is that we can't help you right now, not with everything that is going on."

Yang stood up, cocky smile on her face. "We aren't going to leave without offering our help. What can we do?"

"You're a good neighbor to us. In dark times, we can always turn to the lord, but it's good to have friends too. Daniel and I need Pre-War tools to help us navigate beyond Zion. Should the Dead Horses and Sorrows need to evacuate, these instruments will be vital to us."

Blake raised an eyebrow, confused. "The Sorrows?"

"Another local tribe, friendly allies to the Dead Horses. Normally, we would send scouts to find the equipment, but the Pre-War buildings are taboo to the tribes. They won't go inside." Joshua reached into his back pocket, drawing a large pistol with a suppressor mounted on the barrel. He turned to look at Blake. "I saw your 10mm last night… reliable weapon, but it is a peashooter compared to something like this. This is a .45 auto, one of the best handguns you can get your hands on without using rifle ammunition." He tossed the pistol to Blake.

Blake caught the pistol, surprised by how heavy the handgun was. She took aim at a can hanging from a chain, pulling the trigger. The round hit the can, blowing it in half, and left a three inch wide hole in the rock wall behind it. Cass let loose a low whistle. "Damn… now that is a gun."

Joshua only nodded. "It sure is. Now, for the items we need…" he turned to face the cave entrance. "Chalk, Five; please come in."

Two young men entered the cave. Both were wearing armor made of furs and leather, and both had tribal tattoos and face paint. The only difference in attire was with the one on the right, who wore a baseball cap lined with decorative feathers, while the one on the left was bald. Joshua moved to stand between the two. "This is Follows-Chalk…" The man in the baseball cap waved. "…and this is Two-Bears-High-Fiving." The bald one nodded, pumping a fist in the air. Yang chuckled a bit, but managed to hide it as a sneeze. "They are young enough to not believe in the taboos surrounding pre-war structures, and are willing to help search for the equipment. I suggest we split up into teams of two, and meet up at the Sorrows camp later." Blake, Yang and Cass nodded, deciding to follow the man's plan. They split into three pairs, Yang going with Follows-Chalk, Cass going with Two-Bears, and Blake going with Joshua.

As the groups made their way out of the Dead Horses camp, Yang pulled Blake aside. She leaned in, whispering into the raven-haired girl's ear. "Stay safe, got it?" With that, the blonde quickly kissed Blake on the cheek and ran to catch up with Chalk before Blake could respond. Blake only raised a hand to her face, cupping her cheek and grinning.

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A few hours later, Yang and Chalk were standing at the entrance to the Sorrows camp. They had managed to quickly find a compass in a crashed bus, and had spent the rest of their time casually strolling around the canyon, taking pot shots at geckos and talking about life in general. The duo walked into the canyon, only to find Cass and High-Five had beaten them there. Yang walked up to Cass, irritated. "How the hell did you manage to get here so damn fast?"

Cass only grinned, tossing Yang a bottle of water. "Cause we didn't fuck around hunting lizards for three hours. We passed you at least three times."

Yang shrugged, taking a swig from the bottle before passing it behind her to Chalk. "You have a point. Now, where are Blake and Josh- WHERE DO I GET ONE OF THOSE?!"

Cass looked at Yang, confused, before turning around to see what had excited the blonde. At the entrance of the Sorrows camp stood a woman clad in leathers and tribal face paint. On the woman's arm was a massive gauntlet, built from a combination of a medical brace and what appeared to be a bear's paw. Yang was almost drooling at the idea of what the weapon could do.

A man came around a bend in the canyon, standing next to the woman with the gauntlet. The man was dressed in a simple dark flannel shirt, jeans, and a hat, with a .45 SMG strapped to his back. The man spoke up, his voice showing signs of compassion and kindness. "Ah, I see you have taken a liking to Walking Cloud's Yao-Guai gauntlet." The man stepped forward to meet the group, hand extended to shake. "I am Daniel. You must be the last of the friends Joshua sent."

Yang stepped forward, accepting the man's handshake. "Yes we are. Chalk; the compass, please." Chalk walked up and handed Daniel the compass.

"Thank you. Now, your other friends are already in the main camp. We have decided to take a few hours to rest before we continue our work." With that, Daniel turned around and walked off deeper into the canyon. High-Five and Walking-Chalk said their goodbyes and turned around, headed back to the Dead Horses camp.

Yang began walking down the canyon with Cass, headed the direction Daniel had went, when she was interrupted by somebody tapping her shoulder. Yang turned around, and was greeted by the woman Daniel had referred to as Walking Cloud. "Hello, outsider. I noticed you were staring at my rite of passage."

Yang tilted her head, confused. "Rite of pass… oh, the gauntlet. Yeah, I was looking at it. Where exactly could I get one of those?"

The woman grinned and laughed, as if Yang had just told a joke. "Ha! To get a Yao-Guai gauntlet, you must earn it. If you wish to earn one, you must speak with our shaman White Bird. Follow me." Cloud lead Yang and Cass through the Sorrows camp, stopping at the entrance of a large cave. "White Bird is inside. Talk to him." With that, Walking Cloud turned around and walked away, leaving a very confused Yang and Cass standing in front of the mouth of a cave. Yang shrugged, gesturing towards the cave. Cass just nodded, following as Yang entered the cave.

Inside of the cave, Yang was greeted with a very interesting scene. The cavern's floor was lined with wooden panels, with a hole in the center containing a fire pit, with a pot boiling over an open flame. Over the pot stood a bald man, back facing the entrance, wearing nothing but a set of leather pants. The man was covered in linear, tribal style tattoos, and was wearing a gauntlet similar to Cloud's. Yang stepped forward, clearing her throat to make her presence known.

The man immediately spun around. "Hola, outsider. Welcome, child of omens. You come to receive visions of truth?"

Yang decided to play along, interested to see where this would lead. "What does 'visions of truth' mean, exactly?"

"TAKE DRUGS! KILL A BEAR!" Was all that Yang got in response. _'Well… this should be fun'_ Yang thought, resisting the urge to copy Cass, who had fallen over laughing. The man stood up, walking over to the pot hanging over the fire. He picked up a small wooden cup, filling it to the brim with the dark, hot liquid inside of the pot. He turned to face Yang, handing her the cup. "Here, take sacred vision tea. You drink, you see path before you. Ready?"

Yang turned to face Cass, who had since stood back up and stopped laughing. "If I go crazy, you'll make sure I stay alive, alright?" She half asked, half ordered the cowgirl. Cass only put a thumb up, still regaining her breath from her laughing fit. Yang turned to face White Bird once more. "Alright, let's do this."

"Drink; Tea is strong. Tea is bitter. Wisdom is strong. Wisdom is bitter. You see?" White Bird handed Yang the cup. "You go to cave. Find Ghost of She. Lay ghost to rest. This is your quest. Bring peace where was strife. Go!"

Without giving herself the chance to have second thoughts about the sheer amount of crazy she was doing, Yang downed the entire cup of tea in one gulp. She cringed for a moment, the taste shocking her slightly. She gave it a moment, allowing the bitter taste to settle. "Hey, that actually wasn't half ba-"

Yang fell backwards. The drink had hit her at full force; and Yang felt like she had just had her brain smashed out with a slice of lemon wrapped around a large gold brick. She stood up, slowly looking around the room. Cass and White Bird were gone. The room's warm orange glow had been replaced with a deep purple that seemed to radiate from no location in particular.

All thoughts running through Yang's head suddenly went blank. She couldn't remember where she was. She couldn't remember where she was from. She couldn't remember her friend's names. She couldn't remember her own name. Only one thought broke through, quickly taking over her entire mind; _'Kill the Bear. Take the paw.'_ Suddenly, Yang could smell it; her prey. She looked towards the mouth of the cave, and could see a bright orange line leading out of the cavern. She began to follow it, primal instincts she didn't even know existed kicking into full gear.

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Yang ran all the way from the Sorrows camp to a small crevice on the eastern edge of Zion. Despite the sun being out, the world around her was still enveloped in a dark purple haze, limiting her vision to only a few meters. She walked forward, following the trail that would lead to her prey. _'Kill the bear. Take the paw'_ was the only coherent thought in her mind, all others muddled and clouded by the tea. She looked forward, noticing the trail was slowly coming to an end. She reached the end of the bright orange trail, realizing it had come to a stop in a canyon's dead end. She turned to leave, but stopped when she heard a roar come from the far end of the canyon. She turned around, and was greeted with the largest bear she had ever seen.

The bear was large enough to rival any of the Ursai back on Remnant without breaking a sweat, despite being noticeably thinner than the Grimm in question. The creature was staring directly at Yang, eyes glowing with primal rage. Yang didn't notice the creature's size or stare, though. All she noticed was that the bear was on fire, charging towards her at top speed.

Yang grinned. _'KILL THE BEAR!'_ She began sprinting towards her opponent, spike-clad fists raised. As the beast leapt to tackle its prey, Yang slid, going under the beast. She regained her footing, taking a fighter's stance as the massive beast spun around. The bear lunged out with a paw, but Yang only caught the blow and pulled, bringing herself closer to the creature. She jabbed with her right hand, catching the beast in its jaw. The impact was greeted with a satisfying _crack_ as the beast's jaw broke.

The beast roared in pain and fury, swinging again. This time, it managed to catch Yang in the side of the head. The blonde brawler flew backwards, knocked into the corner the beast had come from. She felt something warm trickling down the left side of her face, but decided to wait until later to check the damage. The bear charged again, catching Yang off guard. She was thrown into the wall, and she felt at least half of her ribs crack with the impact.

Yang dragged herself up from the ground. The bear was advancing slowly, apparently toying with her. Yang took a fighter's stance, fists up to block any incoming blows. The bear leapt at her as she ducked low, swinging up with an uppercut to the beast's belly. The blow connected, sending the bear over Yang into the wall of rock behind her. Yang turned around, taking the chance to go on the attack. She jumped, diverting all of her strength into a single downward punch. She caught the still dazed bear right between the eyes, splitting the beast's skull and killing it instantly.

By the time Yang regained her breath, the beast's flames had gone out. Yang grabbed the beast's right paw and pulled as hard as she could. The arm tore easily at the elbow, allowing Yang to pick up her prize. She began to walk towards the crevice's exit, noticing the haze was slowly leaving her mind. As she rounded a corner, she saw Cass standing in the distance, running full-tilt towards her. Yang tried to raise an arm to wave, but fell forward, passing out from her injuries before she managed to do anything.

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Yang groaned as she was slowly pulled from the wonderful bliss of sleep. She tried to open her eyes, but felt a sharp pain in the left side of her face as she did. She opened her right eye, scanning her surroundings. She was back in White Bird's cave, lying in a cot next to the fire. She reached up to feel the left side of her face, surprised when she felt damp bandages covering everything left of her left eye. She began to sit up, but stopped when she felt a sharp pain in her ribs. She looked down, noticing she had a few bandages wrapped around her midsection, along with a small collection of used stimpacks and Med-X syringes in a tray a few feet away from her.

Yang tried to get up again, but was stopped again, this time by a firm hand on her shoulder. "You are one lucky dumbass; you know that, right?"

Yang let out a sigh of relief. "Oh my god Blake you scarred me…"

Blake came into view, sitting down right next to Yang. Yang looked up, only to see Blake's angry expression. "I scared _you_?! You scared ME! For a while, we thought you weren't going to pull through."

Yang could hear Blake tearing up at this, and felt guilt begin to well up inside of her. "Blake… I am so sorry, I-"

Blake put a finger to Yang's lips, silencing her. "It's alright… I'm just glad you're ok."

Blake stood up, helping Yang up with her. Yang leaned against Blake for support. Yang looked Blake up and down, realizing something was… different about the beautiful woman in front of her. "Blake… What are you wearing?"

Yang stepped back slowly, getting a better view of her partner's new attire. Blake was wearing a simple pair of dark tan cargo jeans and combat boots, with light ceramic plates covering her shins and knees. Above this was a set of desert-camo riot armor, covering her upper body and obviously built to take a fair amount of damage. Over all of this, she wore a floor-length leather combat duster, the color of which matching the dark tan of the outfit's jeans. Clipped on Blake's hip was a helmet, similar in color scheme to the armor, with eye slots glowing green and a built in gas mask. On the helmet's forehead, the words 'FORGIVE ME MAMMA' were written in black marker.

Blake blushed, slightly embarrassed. "It's just a little something I found up in one of the caves. Is it a bit too much?"

Yang smiled slyly, leaning in to whisper in Blake's ear. "I've always had a thing for desert camo."

Blake blushed, her face matching Ruby's cloak. Yang backed up, laughing as she sat down on a stool next to her cot. Blake reached behind her back. "Close your eyes."

Yang looked up at Blake, confused. "Why do I have to?"

"CLOSE THEM!"

Yang flinched, but quickly realized Blake was only joking. She decided to play along, closing her eyes and putting her hands out. She felt a sudden weight enter her hands. "Alright, go ahead and open them."

Yang opened her eyes, and was greeted with one of the most beautiful weapons she had ever seen. It was a medical brace built to go on the forearm, with straps that would go around the elbow to help secure it. On top if the brace was the paw of She, fingers and claws locked into a position to attack. The claws were reinforced with steel, and sharpened to a point. Yang slipped the gauntlet on, securing the straps to her arm. The weapon was perfectly balanced, obviously meant for combat.

Yang looked up at Blake, grinning like an idiot. "Did you…"

Blake nodded. "I had a little help from White Bird, but I did most of the- UMPH!"

Blake didn't get a chance to finish her sentence. Yang had leapt onto the girl, pulling her into a tight hug and kissing her, lips locking with lips. Blake struggled out of shock for a moment before melting into Yang's arms and kissing back.

Yang pulled away a moment later, her mind catching up with what her body had just done. "Oh my god Blake, I am so sorry! I don't know what I was thinking, and I got excited, and-"

She was interrupted by Blake moving in and kissing her, pushing the blonde against one of the cave's walls. After a minute of this, Blake pulled away, her lungs screaming for air. "I can't tell you how long I've been waiting to do that."

Yang grinned, leaning her head against Blake's shoulder as they both began to laugh; each girl embracing the other like their life depended on it.

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 _AN_ _: Well, that was a very fun chapter to write. Nothing beats fighting a Super-Sayan ghost bear, am I right!?_ _Now, on to the reviews:_

 _On Soaring Wings_ _: Yeah, I was always a big fan of the talking deathclaws. I am only having Goris, though, because being the 'last of his kind' is a very large part of what drives him in the wasteland. Glad I've gotten you hooked, and have an amazing day!_

 _Dragonsoul1_ _: Well thanks a lot, now the image of a deathclaw with cazador wings is stuck in my head. Have an amazing day!_

 _Mandalore the freedom_ _: Thanks for another review. I don't have any plans for any of the Fallout 2 companions (besides Marcus, obviously) yet, but might add something later. The stuff with the MS is just an idea a friend and I had and decided to use; apparently it worked out well. More light on Goris' story next chapter. Have an amazing day!_

 _Roach99_ _: Wow… that is one way to handle the vault. I just set a few land mines behind the desk and Stealth-Boyed out with all of the gold. And yeah, I plan on having a fun little scene between Marcus and Goris. I honestly shot Myron in the face the moment I got the chance during my FO2 playthrough. Thanks, and have an amazing day!_

 _Allard-Liao_ _: while the New Vegas companions are all amazing, nothing beats running around with a mothafuckin' talking deathclaw. Have an amazing day!_

 _CaptainDickScratcher:_ _I agree; Christine's CoS is one of my absolute favorite New Vegas guns, only behind This Machine and Bozar for what I use the most. As for music, I am sticking to fallout-era stuff (Sinatra, Fitzgerald, etc…) in this story just because I don't know if anything past the 60's ever happened in the Fallout universe. Also, this thought just randomly appeared in my mind after reading your review, but Guns N' Roses seems like the perfect ship name for Ruby and Coco. I am sorry, that just popped into my mind and I had to say it. Anyway, have an amazing day!_

 _Shaneman17:_ _While chems are very useful, I will probably not have the team use them for moral reasons._

 _Well, that was a fun chapter to write. I may be slowing down slightly in the next two weeks due to finals and Far Harbor, but will bounce right back into the swing of things as soon as I can. Have an amazing day, and just remember kiddies; don't feed the Yao-Guai!_

 _-DovahCourier_


	14. Chapter 14 - Shiny New Toys

_AN_ _: Hello again Readers, DovahCourier here! Ok… this is the third f**king time I've had to write this chapter thanks to my flash drive being a complete dolt. Let's just hope this means the chapter is as refined as I can get it. Sorry again for the delay; I would blame the flash drive problems, but that's not the ONLY reason I was delayed… *COUGH*FAR HARBOR*COUGH*. Well, time for the chapter!_ __

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 _I do not own RWBY or Fallout: New Vegas. RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth and New Vegas belongs to Obsidian Entertainment/Bethesda._

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 **The Tale of Dust and Sand**

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Fourteen: Shiny New Toys

Ruby looked up at Goris, an expression of wonder pasted on her face. "Who… what…"

Goris did the deathclaw equivalent of raising an eyebrow. "What? Never met a talking deathclaw before?"

Ruby only shook her head, still shocked by the massive creature in front of her. Goris let out a deep chuckle. "Well at least I know you aren't a compulsive liar. I am the last of my kind." With that, he pointed a long claw towards the large spire in the center of the crater. "Is that where you are currently staying?"

Ruby shook herself out of her shock. "Yeah… that's where Weiss and I are currently staying."

"Who?"

"She's my friend. The two of us appeared here a couple of days ago, and are working on getting out."

Goris nodded. "I know how you feel; I appeared here about a week ago, after getting chased out of the cave I was using as a home by a few of those damn cazadors." Goris began walking towards the tower, ruby trailing closely behind.

"Cazadors? What are those?"

Goris looked at the girl, almost surprised by the question. "You don't know what a cazador is? I envy you, young one. Take the largest, meanest wasp you can think of, and give it a body about the size of a large child. That, my friend, is a cazador."

Ruby shuddered at the mental image, and continued following Goris. After a few minutes of walking, she looked up at the beast. "You mentioned recognizing my outfit… what did you mean by that?"

Goris looked down at Ruby, before letting out a sigh. "It's… it's a long story."

Ruby only sat down on a nearby rock, pulling out her rifle to clean. "I got time."

Goris grunted and sat down, accepting defeat. "Alright… You are not the first I've met to wear a vault suit through the wastes. I've met two before you. But only one bore the number thirteen like you. The other one… what was the fatty's name… Twat? No… Twig! That was it. He came to me about five-ish years ago, back when I was living in a self-built library in an abandoned mine out west of here. Brave kid… but not very accustomed to wasteland life. He was a pretty nice swinging arm with that Nuka Cola sign, though." Goris let out a light chuckle.

"Now, the other one to wear the suit you are wearing now… she was in a category of her own. She was friend to a few, a legend to many, and an enemy to many more. I merely knew her as Elizabeth Arroyo. She was the heir to the Vault Dweller himself, and she definitely picked up her grandfather's... um… enthusiasm, when it came to adventuring the wastes."

Goris smiled, as if reminiscing upon a fond memory. "To know the rest of her tale, you must first know what _I_ am." Goris crossed his legs, getting comfortable for the long story ahead. "As you probably know by now, not all deathclaws are quite as… social as I am. My kin and I -were created as an experiment by the Enclave; a small chunk of the Pre-War government that survived the war. We were intended to be the ultimate soldiers; meant to take an order without question, and execute it perfectly."

A small gecko ran by. Goris grabbed it by the tail and pulled it towards himself, taking a bite out of the creature. "Sorry, I haven't eaten anything since I arrived here. As I was saying; we eventually broke free from our Enclave masters, and colonized an old vault. We eventually opened up to trade with humans, even allowing a few to live amongst us. Things were going good for a while, until the vault's computer died. Lucky for us, Elizabeth was searching for some pre-war tech for her village, and ended up wandering into our vault. She fixed the computer in exchange for some of the tech we had stored in the vault. I decided to join her; a little bit of adventure couldn't hurt."

"I was not the only one to join Elizabeth on her suicidal adventures. Eventually, it was me, her, three dogs, a cyborg, a super mutant, and the angriest drunk I've ever met, all making chaos across California. One day, we returned to my vault to visit my kin…" Goris closed his eyes, and Ruby noticed a single tear run down his cheek.

Ruby walked over to Goris, sitting down next to her massive friend. "What happened at the vault?"

Goris' eyes flew open. All signs of sadness were gone, replaced by primal rage. "THE ENCLAVE HAPPENED, THAT'S WHAT! They went in there and killed… no, the bastards SLAUGHTERED the entire Pack! For once, the Enclave got off its ass and decided to clean up what they saw as a 'mistake', and ended up nearly wiping out my entire SPECIES!" Goris began sharpening his claws against a nearby rock. "All because of that bastard Frank Horrigan… What I wouldn't do to be able to kill that scumbag again… and again… AND AGAIN!"

Ruby looked up at Goris, realizing that while he was more civilized than the creatures back in Quarry Junction, he was still a deathclaw. She could tell that, despite his best efforts, the memories of this 'Horrigan' were slowly driving him over the edge. Ruby panicked and grabbed Goris around the midsection, hugging tightly. Goris' breathing slowed down, and the creature looked down at the girl holding on to him. He patted her head softly before picking her up by the collar of her vault suit and putting her down on a nearby rock. He then looked at her sternly. "That was not a very good idea. Normally, an angry deathclaw is something you would want to get the hell AWAY from, let alone grab onto."

Ruby only threw Goris a cocky smile. "It worked, didn't it?"

Goris put a finger up and opened his mouth to argue, but quickly realized the girl was right. Goris only grunted exasperatedly, stood up, and began walking towards the Think Tank, Ruby tailing close behind.

Half an hour later, Ruby and Goris were in the elevator leading up to the Sink. Ruby looked up at her new friend, realization suddenly striking her. "Ok; when we get up there, I need you to stay in the elevator for a minute. Let me talk to Weiss about this, and then you can come out." Goris nodded, understanding the girl's logic. The door to the elevator slid open, and Ruby stepped through into the Sink.

Ruby walked into the living room. To her surprise, Weiss was sitting at the weapon workbench, apparently very focused on something. Ruby began to walk up slowly behind her partner, but tripped over an empty bottle of Nuka. Weiss heard the noise and immediately threw a large oilcloth over the project, blocking it from Ruby's view. She than stood up and walked over to where Ruby was sprawled out on the floor, putting her hand out to help the young girl. "Good morning. Where have you been?"

Ruby accepted Weiss' hand, pulling herself up onto her feet. "I just went out for a hunt. Clear my mind, get used to being back in my body. Anyway, I have to ask you a q- wait… did you do something with your hair?"

Ruby looked Weiss up and down, realizing something was different. Weiss' hair was out of its normal ponytail, and was only long enough to reach just below her shoulder instead of its previous back-length. Weiss blushed slightly. "You like it? I decided to see how I would like it if it was a bit shorter."

Ruby raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, looking at Weiss accusingly. "You got it caught in the workbench's drill-press and had to even it out, didn't you?"

Weiss facepalmed and muttered under her breath. "Yes."

Ruby chuckled before patting Weiss on the shoulder reassuringly. "Well I think it looks good on you. Brings out that inner-child you do your best to keep locked up."

Weiss only blushed harder, which made Ruby laugh more. "Weiss… I need to ask you something."

"What is it?"

Ruby rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Well… do you remember when I tried to bring a pet lizard into the dorm and you freaked out?"

Weiss looked at Ruby, a mix of worry and confusion forming on her face. "Why do I get a bad feeling about where this is going?"

Ruby looked over her shoulder. "Goris, would you come in here please."

"Ruby, what is this all a- LOOK OUT!" Weiss tackled Ruby and pulled her behind the Sink's center table. Weiss put a few commands into her Pip, leading to her RCW appearing in her hands, fully loaded. "Alright Ruby; I don't know how, but there is a fucking deathclaw on the other side of the table. I'll distract it, you make a run for the elevator, go-" Weiss turned her head to see if Ruby was listening, but stopped when she saw the girl had left cover and was slowly walking away… directly towards the massive wall of scaly death waiting in the doorway.

Weiss shot up, weapon drawn and trained on the deathclaw. "RUBY, GET DOWN!"

Ruby turned around and shot her hands up, shielding the beast. "Weiss wait! I can explain!"

Weiss looked at Ruby in disbelief, but noticed that the creature was just standing behind Ruby, and had raised a massive hand to wave at Weiss. _'Wait… what?'_ Weiss did a double take, thinking she was either crazy, dreaming, or both. She pointed at the creature. "Did that thing just _wave_ at me?"

The creature stepped around Weiss, hand outstretched almost as if to shake Weiss'. "Where are my manners? I am Go-"

Weiss fainted before the creature could finish his sentence.

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Weiss slowly opened her eyes. She felt an odd pressure on her midsection, and looked down to investigate. Sitting on her midsection was Ruby, shaking her by the shoulders violently. "WEISS; ARE YOU OK?!"

Weiss shoved Ruby off, sitting up as she did so. "YES I'M OK YOU DOLT!" She looked around the room, relieved to not see anything too out of the ordinary. She was about to stand up, but stopped when she heard breathing coming from right behind her. She turned her head, looking up to see a massive deathclaw sitting cross-legged, staring down at her with a worried expression on its face.

"I am sorry for startling you. I tend to forget most humans don't take very kindly to my kind. I am Goris." Goris stood up and put out a hand to help Weiss up. She grabbed one of his massive fingers and pulled herself up, shaking his hand as she did so.

"Weiss Schnee. Nice to meet you." Weiss attempted to stay courteous, but was still extremely weirded out by the fact that she was talking to a deathclaw.

Ruby saw this tension and quickly intervened, hoping to kill the awkward silence. "Who wants lunch?"

Ruby led Weiss and Goris into the kitchen, where the trio made their way to stand around the table that held the Toaster. Ruby looked down at the psychopathic device, surprised when it didn't immediately start spewing profanities, flames, or both. "Weiss, what did you do to the toaster?"

"All of the AIs are turned off. Apparently, activating all of them at the same time locks them down for a few hours."

Ruby groaned. "Alright… I'll improvise. Now, let's see what we have to work with…" Ruby thumbed through her Pip, looking at everything she had categorized under 'food'. "Alright, we have gecko, Brahman, a little bit of radscorpion, and leftovers from when Liz made death-" Weiss stomped down hard on Ruby's foot. "OW! WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FO- oh yeah… oops. So… who wants brahman steak?"

Ruby pulled a cutting board out from under the table and put a few commands into her Pip, materializing a few large cuts of Brahman on the table, along with the knife she had picked up during her fight the previous day. Ruby looked at the blade, surprised to see that it was still glowing orange, and was emitting extreme amounts of heat. Ruby shrugged it off and swung the blade down, aiming for one of the slices of Brahman. The blade cleanly cut through the cut of meat… and the cutting board… and the table… and embedded itself in the wall when Ruby panicked and released the blade, sending it flying behind her. Ruby picked up the slice of meat, noticing the edge the blade had touched was no longer pink and raw, but was a deep golden-brown, cooked to near-perfection.

A few minutes of trial-and-error later, Ruby had diced the Brahman meat up into small, 'medium(ish)-rare' cubes. She took three wire frames from the Sink's lab, straightened them, and lined them with the meat. She handed Weiss and Goris a kebab each, and the trio sat down right there in the middle of the kitchen, eating the meal and talking about whatever came to mind.

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Goris took a large bite out of a chunk of brahman, finishing his kebab. "So, there we were, pinned against a cliff wall, surrounded by a dozen or so Khans with Elizabeth nowhere to be seen. Marcus had John passed out on his back, the dogs were hiding behind me, and Skynet had been taking a nap in the back of the Highwayman. Next thing I know, a burst of rifle fire comes in from above us and I look up to see Elizabeth, Bozar at the ready, sending waves of lead into the bastards." Goris let out a hearty laugh, tossing the now empty kebab skewer behind him.

Ruby smiled. Goris had just wrapped up his third story of wandering the wastes with the 'Chosen One', and had only managed to further show his skill at weaving a tale. She turned her head towards Weiss, who was tearing into her meal in a way that made Goris' eating habits look almost civilized. Goris spoke up once more. "Well, that's enough stories for today. How about you two? Any more stories about this 'Remnant' you hail from?"

Ruby shook her head. "Nope, not really. We've told you everything there is to know."

Goris sighed, disappointed. "Alright than. Any idea what we should do now?"

At this, Weiss stood up, beckoning for the duo to follow her into the living room. She stepped up to the table, looking down at the interface. "Central, full map of the area please."

"With pleasure, sir." Suddenly, a three-dimensional map of the area popped up, taking up the surface are of the entire table. Weiss pointed to three buildings, holographic pins appearing where she pointed.

Weiss cleared her throat before continuing. "Alright, we need to collect the tech from these locations. I can head after the Stealth Suit, as it seems I am the most… subtle out of our current trio." Weiss ran her hand through one of the icons on the eastern edge of the crater, causing the pin to evaporate.

Ruby quickly pointed at a large satellite tower on the southwestern edge of the facility. "I can go after the antenna; the tower will make a great sniper spot after I grab it."

Goris groaned. "I guess that leaves the sonic emitter upgrade to me… this should be interesting."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me…" Weiss looked down at her Pip-Boy, materializing the sonic emitter and handing it to Goris. Goris nodded, placing the device in a pocket deep within his robes. With that, he walked over to the elevator, heading downstairs to handle the upgrade.

Ruby moved to follow suit, but was stopped when Weiss put a hand on her shoulder. "Wait, Ruby. I have something that might help a bit."

Ruby grinned like a child on Christmas. "What is it?"

Weiss walked over to the workbench, picking up the large shape she had covered with the oilcloth. "I know it's no _Crescent Rose_ … but I hope you like it." With that, Weiss pulled the oilcloth away.

Ruby's jaw hit the floor. Weiss was holding what had to be one of the most beautiful rifles she had seen in a long, long time. The stock and foregrip were apparently carbon fiber reinforced with steel, and were painted a deep red. The semi-auto receiver appeared to be a blend of steel, aluminum and titanium; perfectly balancing speed, power, and durability. The stock was only semi-solid, but was reinforced to the point that it wouldn't make any difference as long as it wasn't swung like a battleaxe, and had a sheath for a combat knife built in. The scope was jet black, with Ruby's rose emblem stenciled in red on each of the larger tuning knobs. The barrel was capped off by a half-foot suppressor, which had the name _'Christine'_ painted along the side in the same color as the roses and the stock.

Ruby tackled Weiss, screaming an unintelligible combination of every version of 'thank you' she could think of. It took all of the younger girl's willpower not to latch onto Weiss and plant a kiss right on the heiress' cheek right then and there. Instead, she picked up the rifle, inspecting it with precision accuracy. She was slightly disheartened when she found it wasn't a .50cal, but was impressed when she found the clip was large enough to hold at least twenty .308 rounds. Ruby pulled Weiss off of the floor. "Weiss… it's beautiful! How did you manage to do this?"

"The rifle itself was pre-made. I just redid the paint and mounted the knife sheath. I was about to take the name off of the suppressor when you got home."

Ruby hugged the weapon defensively. "Leave it… it gives her a bit more personality. Thanks again!" With this, Ruby hugged Weiss again, loaded the rifle, and ran to the elevator.

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"Well… that was interesting." Ruby said to nobody in particular. She had just exited the large satellite tower, leaving a pile of destroyed roboscorpions in her wake. She had the insanely heavy antenna strapped to her back; apparently, even the Pip had its limits for item size. If it wasn't for her modified spine, ruby was sure she would have been forced to get Goris' help with collecting the massive weapon.

She began walking northwards, passing underneath one of the many pipes that crisscrossed the facility. Suddenly, a muffled _*crack*_ sounded from behind her. Ruby spun around, rifle at the ready. She took aim, training her scope on… a dog.

Well… it looked like a dog, anyway. The creature's hind legs, along with one of its forelegs, were all robotic. The creature was holding its remaining biological leg up to its chest, and Ruby could tell it was broken. The creature's head was normal up to the top section, which was replaced with a glass dome containing what Ruby assumed was the creature's brain. The creature was walking forward slowly, whimpering in pain as it went. Ruby stepped forward, readying a stimpack to help the hurt creature.

Ruby knelt down, lightly scratching the dog on the chin. "It's going to be alright… this might sting a bit." Ruby pressed the stim into the creature's skin just above where the leg met the body. The dog sniffed Ruby for a moment, before nuzzling up to her side. Ruby looked the creature up and down, impressed by how complex the robotic mechanics were. She noticed the word 'Roxie' was painted in fine blue print along the creature's side. Roxie lowered her paw, apparently noticing the stimpack had fixed her leg.

Ruby stood up and began walking again, but stopped when she noticed the dog was following her. She turned around, kneeling down to the dog's level. "Hey…" Ruby quickly darted her head down. "…girl, don't you have a home? Go home girl, go home." Ruby began walking again, but stopped once more when the dog continued following. "Ugh… alright. I give up. Wanna come with me?" At this, the dog barked excitedly, running around Ruby in a circle. Ruby giggled. "Alright. Just don't hump anything and we'll get along fine." Ruby began walking once more.

Ruby was less than a kilometer from the Think Tank when she heard a loud bang from behind her. She turned her head, noticing a trail of smoke running from the sky down to a spot just beyond her view behind a ridge. Ruby looked down at Roxie, who merely barked and began running towards the source of the noise. Ruby began running after the dog, not wanting her new friend to get killed less than an hour after meeting her.

Ruby crested the ridge, and looked down into a small smoking crater. The smoke was an odd shade of bluish-green, and was billowing out of the center of the crater. Ruby jumped off of the ridge, sliding down the crater's wall. She reached the center, and found the source of the billowing smoke.

In the center of the crater was a metal pod, roughly the size of a locker. The metal was sleek, and lined with blue lights. The 'nose' of the pod was scorched and damaged, either from the impact or the flight. Ruby stepped towards the pod, lightly tapping the surface. She jumped backwards when one of the pod's previously seamless surfaces split open, widening with a hydraulic _hiss_.

Ruby peeked inside the pod, noticing an odd assortment of items. Inside of the pod were a large bag of caps, a couple of glowing blue bottles of Nuka, a hardcover book with a skull on the cover, and a large revolver. Ruby picked up the revolver, looking it up and down. It was chambered in .44 and had a large scope mounted on it, along with the image of a hawk feather inscribed in the wooden handle. Ruby holstered the revolver and picked up the book. " _'The Wasteland Survival Guide'_ … sounds like fun." Ruby stored the book in her Pip, along with the bottles of soda and the stash of caps. Ruby stood up to leave, but stopped when she saw a slight glint from the inside of the pod. She leaned into the device, noticing the back of the pod was not solid, but a folded tarp. Ruby pulled the cloth away, and could only manage a high-pitched squeak for joy at what she found.

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Weiss stepped off of the elevator into the Sink. She had just run the most… interesting physical exam of her life, and had gotten what she needed. She stepped through the doorway into the living room, and immediately had to duck to avoid a flying wrench. "WHAT THE?!"

Ruby looked over her shoulder from the workbench, noticing what (well, who) she had almost hit. "Sorry Weiss! I didn't hear you there. How did it g…" Ruby stopped talking when she saw Weiss' outfit.

Weiss was wearing a jet black jumpsuit lined with white armor plates. The armor formed perfectly to the Weiss' curvature, emphasizing her stunning body and giving Ruby very little room for the imagination. Weiss stepped forward, slight sway in her hips, and lightly set her chin on Ruby's shoulder, looking down at the workbench. "What are you working on?"

Ruby snapped out of her trance, looking back to her work. "Just a few repairs on a revolver I found."

 _"I've never liked revolvers. Too loud for any good kills."_

Ruby jumped backwards, landing flat on her face a few feet away from the workbench. She pulled herself up, looking at Weiss with a mix of confusion and intrigue. "What… who… how…"

Weiss didn't even open her mouth to respond; the suit apparently did it for her. _"What; never met a talking set of armor before?!"_ Ruby just shook her head. _"Well than; I am the Mk. II Combat Stealth Armor. I am built for basic infiltration and assassination missions, along with basic battlefield medical assistance procedures."_

Ruby nodded. "Glad to meet you. Please don't kill my friend."

Weiss laughed at this. "Don't worry, I am still in full control of the suit; it just has a bit more personality than most outfits."

Before Ruby could ask any follow up questions, Goris entered from the elevator room, panting like a wild beast. Ruby darted to her friend's side, noticing he had many scrapes and cuts along his arms and back. "GORIS! What happened?"

Goris only sat down, still breathing heavily. "Big… dog…" He placed the sonic emitter on the table, then leaned backwards against the wall, applying a stimpack to a large bite mark on his right arm.

Ruby stood up, walking into the bedroom. She returned, pulling a large footlocker. "Well, this should cheer you up. I made it myself."

Ruby emptied the large locker at Goris' feet, revealing a large pile of metal and leather. Weiss stared at the pile of scraps, confused slightly, before Goris stood up and began pulling the pieces onto his body, a cocky smile returning to his lips. By the time Weiss realized what was happening, Ruby was already standing on the table, observing her handiwork.

Goris was now wearing a custom-built set of heavy leather armor, with large metal plates protecting the shoulders and chest. His claws each had a massive dagger, doubling the size and sharpness of the appendages. Weiss looked up at Ruby, shocked at her teammate. "Good job Ruby; you have taken the most dangerous thing in the wasteland, and made it even MORE dangerous!"

Ruby laughed maniacally. "That's the point!"

Weiss pinched down on the bridge of her nose, shaking her head slowly. "Alright, fine. So, we all have the tech; what now?"

" _We could assassinate the brains downstairs and take the tech for ourselves."_

"Oh you shut it." Weiss reached under one of the armor plates on her chest, pulling the power cord to the AI's speaker out of its socket. "Alright… I say we get a good night's sleep in, and we handle Mobius tomorrow. All in favor, say 'I'."

"I."

"I."

Goris nodded, then let out a long yawn. "Alright, I'm headed to bed. Anyone needs me, I'm taking the couch." With that, the deathclaw walked into the living room, hopped onto the ancient piece of furniture, and was snoring before Ruby and Weiss could even blink.

Ruby tapped Weiss on the shoulder. "I have something I want to show you."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Well… I wanted to repay you for the rifle, and I know you took a liking to Zwei, so…" Ruby turned her head towards the bedroom and let out a quick, high-pitched whistle.

"Ruby, what are you trying to do ex- WOAH!" Before she could finish her sentence, Weiss was knocked to the floor by a ball of fur, slobber and steel. Weiss opened her eyes, only to be met with an enthusiastic lick to the face from Roxie. The girl sat up, petting the dog as she did so.

Ruby smiled, watching as her teammate bonded with her knew friend. She walked into the bedroom, pulling a large box out from under her bed. _'Now… time to play with MY new friend!'_ With that, Ruby pulled the lid off of the box. She hoisted her new weapon up, pulling the chain to start up it's industrial-grade motor. She looked at its heavy duty frame, making sure the chipped yellow paint wouldn't get in the way of her practice. She inspected each of the four symmetrical axe blades, making sure they were all sharpened and balanced, before revving the motor and giving her new Auto-Axe a practice swing.

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 _AN_ _: Sorry again for the short chapter, a few things have happened recently that have distracted me from work. The good news is that summer has started, So I hopefully will fall into a more regular pattern for writing and posting the chapters. Now, onto reviews:_

 _Guest: Thank you, I do plan on having a good summer. While I do like the f03 companions, I don't plan on adding them to the story for plot reasons. As for lemons, I don't plan on having any full blown-dirty scenes, maybe just a few borderline-smutty moments. Glad I have you hooked, and have an absolutely amazing day!_

 _Captaindickscratcher_ _: I PM'd you a response to this while the review sustem was being buggy. Thanks again for the review, and have a nice day good sir!_

 _Shaneman17_ _: Like above, I PM'd you earlier in response to this. Thanks, and good day!_

 _Roach99_ _: Yeah, I wanted to use the connections between Joshua and Blake as a foundation for a strong alliance. Glad I did it well! As for the shipping, I have nothing against Monochrome/Checkmate, but A) Bumblebee is by far my favorite pairing behind Nuts n' Dolts (Ruby x Penny), and B) Thanks to how evil this fanbase can be, Monochrome oftentimes leads to the door being opened for *shudders* Enabler. Glad you like the story so far, and have a good day!_

 _Well, that's all for now folks. Please, don't be afraid to leave a Review or throw a PM my way; this story is only here because of you guys, and I want all of the input I can get on how you want it to be shaped as a story. Make sure to have an absolutely amazing day, and just remember kiddies; Don't feed the Yao-Guai!_

 _-DovahCourier_


	15. Chapter 15 - Old Word Blues

_AN: Hello Readers, DovahCourier here! I am SO SORRY for the delay in this chapter being posted. Long story short, Dad and I got into a fight that led to him taking away my laptop, the USB drive with the story on it, and all library privileges for a couple of weeks. Solution; I decided to keep writing as soon as I got the laptop back and add what was going to be next week's chapter to this one and make it a double-sized chapter! A lot of you are probably thinking 'What the fuck Dovah, another BigMT chapter?' To put it lightly, I have an extreme case of writer's block with the Zion story arc for the moment, and am on a roll with the BigMT stuff. Don't worry, the next one, maybe two chapters will be in Zion. Now, let's get into it, shall we?_ ****

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 _I do not own RWBY or Fallout: New Vegas. RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth and Fallout belongs to Obsidian Entertainment/Bethesda._

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 **The Tale of Dust and Sand**

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Fifteen: Old World Blues

Ruby got up with a grunt, blowing a singed strand of hair out of her face. _'Note to self: add a timer that breaks the seal AFTER device is thrown.'_ Ruby, finding sleep impossible after only three hours of it, had spent the last few hours tampering with the microfusion grenade recipe. In the excitement of a breakthrough, she had completely forgotten to add the grenade's safety device. The resulting explosion had thrown her across the Sink's living room and into the kitchen.

Ruby pulled herself off of the floor, only to see a very tired and worried Weiss standing in the doorway. "What the hell was that?"

"Nothing too bad; I just managed to blow myself up. No biggie."

Weiss immediately darted forward, checking Ruby for any injuries. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'NO BIGGIE'? YOU JUST GOT THROWN TWENTY FEET BACKWARDS!"

Ruby grinned. "Weiss… I had no idea you cared about me like t-"

Weiss blushed enough for her face to match Ruby's cloak. She put a finger on Ruby's lips, silencing her. "No, it's just the last thing I need right now is for the one person keeping me sane to blow themselves up."

Ruby tilted her head, confused. "What do you mean, 'keeping you sane'?"

Weiss shook her head. "Its… its nothing. Now, please go back to bed Ruby, it's only…" Weiss looked down at her Pip-Boy, groaning with irritation. "… seven thirty. Alright, I'll go make coffee. You wake up the deathclaw."

Ruby's eyes widened in fear. "Why do I need to wake him up!?"

"You brought him home, therefore you get to wake him."

Ruby groaned in defeat, walking over to the couch. Hesitantly, she tapped Goris on one of his massive shoulders. "Goris… time to wake up…"

Goris shuffled slightly in his sleep, mumbling to himself. "No… The oil rig? Are you crazy?! We won't make it…" Goris' muscles tensed up, and Ruby could see his claws instinctively sharpening against each other. "Horrigan… I WILL AVENGE MY-"

"GORIS!"

Goris shot upwards, eyes flying open. The beast grabbed Ruby by the throat, pinning her to a wall. Goris roared, showing a row of razor sharp teeth mere inches from Ruby's face. Ruby closed her eyes and screamed, panic overtaking reason. The claws at her neck began to dig into her flesh, and Ruby could feel a small amount of blood trickling down the side of her neck. _'Well… I guess this is the e-'_

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER!"

There was a loud zap, the smell of ozone mixed with burnt flesh, and Ruby's eyes shot open as Goris dropped her. She looked up to see Weiss holding her RCW and aiming at Goris, a look of pure fury on her face. Goris was clutching one of his arms, and Ruby could see the raw, burnt flesh underneath his large hand. Weiss stepped forward, pulling Ruby behind her.

Goris turned to face the duo, his breath slowing. He looked around, almost as if the entire situation had just begun to register. He got down, kneeling in close to the two girls. Weiss tensed up, aiming her rifle at his face. "Back off! Haven't you done enough?!"

Goris looked up to meet her gaze, and Ruby could see a mix of confusion and regret in the deep, red orbs. She stood up, putting herself between Weiss and Goris. "Weiss wait. He didn't know what he was doing."

Weiss scoffed. "Yeah? Well what happens if he 'doesn't know what he's doing' again and ends up killing you?! He may be able to talk, but he is still a beast!"

Goris merely hung his head shamefully. Ruby looked at Weiss sternly. "He is more than that!"

"He is a dangerous animal!"

"HE IS MY FRIEND!" Ruby stepped forward, surprised when she found she was nearly as tall as Weiss. _'When did that happen? Must be the spine thing.'_ Ruby pushed the thought to the back of her mind, focusing on Weiss. "He is one of the few kind people I have met in this entire wasteland, and I am not going to let something as simple as species get in the way of making a friend."

Weiss stared at Ruby with a mix of admiration and confusion. "Ruby… when did you become so assertive?"

Ruby shrugged. "I don't know, but that's not the point. Goris made a mistake; big whoop! If you went through the things he has, you would have an episode every so often too!"

Weiss frowned, realizing Ruby was right. "Ruby… I am sorry f-"

Ruby covered Weiss' mouth. "It's not me you should be apologizing to…"

Weiss nodded and walked over to Goris. Goris looked down, locking eyes with the heiress. "I'm sorry for shooting you. I just didn't want Ruby to get-"

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry. Sometimes my mind heads to… dark places, to say the least. I'll try to control it in the future."

Weiss got out a stimpack, injecting the medicine into Goris' arm. Goris flexed his arm, watching as the burns slowly faded away into small scar marks. He reached out a hand, which Weiss promptly shook with a professional level of enthusiasm. Ruby clicked her fingers. "Alright; time for business. How are we going to handle Mobius?"

Weiss merely pointed at the table. "Central; the presentation please."

"With pleasure, sir."

 ** _LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK_**

"Therefore, the best plan would be to either swing around the southeast through the village to avoid the canyons, or a full frontal assault that should take him by surprise. Any questions?" Weiss looked up from the hologram control interface, concluding her two hour 'PowerPip' on the best way to attack Mobius' fortress. She looked at the couch, only to see Goris sharpening his claws on the armrests and Ruby… fast asleep, curled up in a ball on the deathclaw's lap. Weiss groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose and shaking her head slowly. She walked over to the workbench, picked up her plasma pistol, and fired it into the air.

Ruby immediately shot up, rolling out of Goris' lap and landing crouched on the floor, reaching for her pistol. "WHOWHATWHEREWH… bloody hell Weiss was that really necessary?"

"Well, you slept through the ENTIRE PRESENTATION… so yes, yes it was." Weiss turned back to the board. "As I was saying, our best bet to attack the Forbidden Zone would be to head through either Higgs Village and make our way northeast, or just charge north, guns blazing."

Ruby nodded, the last bits of sleep leaving her system. "I say we move in with a full frontal assault; Get in, get your brain, and get the hell out of dodge before he can even blink... Wait, do robots blink?"

Weiss nodded, disregarding Ruby's philosophical question at the end of the statement. "What about you, Goris?"

The deathclaw in question looked up. "Honestly, I have never been one for the… subtle approach."

Weiss nodded again. "Well, a frontal assault it is than! Now, let's see what weapons we have to work with…"

Before Weiss could even finish her sentence, Ruby was out of the room, giggling like a schoolgirl. A few seconds later, she came back in, hauling a large steamer trunk behind her from the bedroom. "I am glad you asked!"

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Why do I get a bad feeling about this?"

Ignoring the question, Ruby reached into the trunk, pulling out a large cluster of her MFC grenades and tossing it to Weiss. "Remember: Pull, throw, run like hell in the other direction. I only had enough to make one cluster, so don't waste it." Weiss nodded, storing the weapon in her Pip. Ruby also pulled out Weiss' RCW, returning it to its owner. "I sped up the repeater, so it should fire a bit faster now, as well as have a bit less recoil thanks to the dampener I added to the barrel." Weiss nodded, loading her weapon and slinging it over her shoulder.

Ruby looked into the chest again, pulling out the rifle Weiss had given her. Weiss eyed the weapon, noticing the knife holster was gone, and the previously empty stock section now contained what looked like a collection of tesla coils. Before Weiss could question the modifications, Ruby threw the weapon into the air and caught it by the barrel. Suddenly, a blade of deep red energy emitted from the coils in the stock, turning the weapon into a single-edged battleaxe. Ruby looked at her friends, a smug grin on her face. "It sure isn't _CR_ , but it's the best I can do with the materials I have. Now…"

Ruby slung the weapon over her back and dived back into the chest, pulling out the knife that had almost burned the kitchen down, along with a sheath for it. "Here you go Weiss… I lined the case with the same material as the blade, so it shouldn't melt into your leg when you wear it." Ruby tossed the blade to Weiss, who caught it by the handle.

"Sorry Goris, I couldn't get you anything else…"

"It's alright. Hell, an armored deathclaw in itself is the definition of overkill."

Ruby dug even deeper into the apparently bottomless chest of goodies, hoisting something massive out of it. She turned to face Weiss and Goris. "Ladies, Gentlemen, Weiss…"

"Hey!"

"…I would like to introduce you to the Man-Opener Mk. II." With that, she spun up the Auto-Axe in her hands. She had replaced the rusty blades with proton-axe emitters, so the cutting edge now consisted of four bright red blades of energy spinning at twice the weapon's original speed. Along with this, she had removed the chipped yellow paint job, replacing it with a mix of red and black.

Weiss shook her head, smiling at her partner's enthusiasm for weaponry. "Alright Ruby, I think that is enough to handle-"

Weiss was suddenly hit in the face with a pillow. "THERE ARE NEVER ENOUGH WEAPONS! Now… would you happen to know if Central has any .45-70 in stock?"

Weiss looked at her partner sternly. "What the hell do you need a bullet of that caliber for?!"

Ruby reached into the very bottom of the chest, pulling out the K-9000. There were now four barrels, along with two separate ammunition feeds. The biogel holding the brain was also no longer a light blue, but a deep purple. As ruby hoisted the massive weapon up, it let out a threatening growl, which only helped to inflate Ruby's ego farther. "Weiss, Goris… meet Z.W.E.I."

 ** _LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK_**

The Robo-Scorpion: The BigMT's greatest achievement in robotic warfare. Small, fast, and deadly, the machines are armed with razor-sharp pincers, stinger-based laser weaponry, and armor plates thick enough to block all small arms fire. In the entire Mojave, there are very few things capable of standing a chance against the Robo-Scorpion in combat, and even fewer things capable of actually besting one…

At the top of that list of weaknesses is an angry fifteen-year-old huntress-in-training wielding a plasma-enhanced industrial-grade chainsaw.

Ruby, Weiss and Goris stood at the entrance to Mobius' so-called 'Forbidden Zone'. The entrance had been guarded by half a dozen Robo-Scorpions, all of which now sat in a pile of half-melted scrap metal a few feet away from the door. Ruby bent over, hands on her knees, regaining her breath. "Well… that was fun!"

Weiss looked down at her teammate. "It sure looked like it was… you didn't leave any for us!"

"It's not my fault this thing is amazing!" Ruby retorted, picking up the Man-Opener and storing it in her Pip. "Alright, we need to be ready for anything that could be past this door… follow my lead." With that, Ruby materialized Z.W.E.I. from her Pip, taking aim at the large industrial door. She nodded at Weiss, who hit the control panel and opened the massive door.

The group walked in and was met with a pitch black room. Weiss could tell from the echoes that it was very large and empty. She stepped forward, only hesitating for a moment when she heard the loud click of the door sealing behind them. As the door shut, Weiss felt a sudden weight grab onto her from the side. _'What the hell is tha-'_

"WEISS IT'S DARK!"

Weiss groaned, attempting to pry Ruby from her side. "Ruby… LET GO OF ME!" Weiss managed to uncurl Ruby's fingers from their position clinging onto her side, which was met with a dull thud as the younger girl landed on the floor. "Alright, there has to be a switch somewhere…"

Suddenly, the room was filled with a bright light. Ruby winced, taking a moment to let her vision adjust. She looked around the room, noticing multiple layers of catwalks and control rooms hugging the facility's walls. She noticed the large balcony taking up the third story of the opposing wall, with a large door similar to the one they had entered through. Ruby pointed at the door. "Alright, I think that's the door to Mobius' lab. Let's get go-"

There was a loud metallic screech from the center of the massive room. Ruby hoisted up Z.W.E.I., who let out a deep, angry growl. Weiss aimed her plasma pistol and prepared a grenade. Goris only roared, flashing his massive claw-mounted daggers. The center of the room's floor opened up, revealing a large pit. Ruby stepped forward, peering into the pit for a moment before quickly darting backwards, eyes wide in a mix of horror and excitement. A large platform screeched to a halt, sealing the opened hole. On top of the platform was a mechanical scorpion large enough to give the Emerald Forest's Grimm a run for their money.

It was at least forty-five feet from stinger to head, not including the massive pincers. The thing's claws were massive, large enough to easily rip a Deathstalker in half. The stinger glowed with an eerie green, which Ruby assumed was the source of the clicking her Pip's Geiger counter was emitting. There was a sharp crackle from an unseen speaker, and suddenly Dr. Mobius' voice filled the chamber. _"ATTENTION VISITORS; COMBAT EXPERIMENT IN PROGRESS. PLEASE PUT ON GOGGLES AND TAKE RAD-X NOW! THE X-42 GIANT ROBO-SCORPION… IS ALIVE! AWAKEN, MY PET, INITIATE YOUR SEARCH-AND-DESTROY PROTOCOL IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS MOBIUS!"_

Weiss grabbed Ruby by the collar, pulling her into a nearby room. She looked back, relieved when she saw Goris follow them behind cover. Weiss turned to face Ruby, who was still just grinning like an idiot. "Alright, what's the plan?"

Ruby only threw her friends a sly wink before jumping out from behind cover, Z.W.E.I. at the ready. She pulled down the trigger, laughing hysterically as two streams of near-molten lead rocketed towards the robot… and immediately bounced off of the thing's armor like a stream of spitballs. "AW SON OF A B-!"

Ruby was cut off by the X-42 firing its tail weapon. Instead of a laser like it's smaller brethren, Ruby was surprised when a ball of molten plasma flew out of the thing's tail at her. She instinctively raised her gun to block her face. The improvised shield worked, but Weiss could see a tear make its way down Ruby's face as her weapon let out a dying whimper, the plasma bolt melting the brain casing and most of the firing mechanisms within seconds. Weiss darted out, grabbing Ruby by the midsection before hauling her back behind cover.

"Alright, now what's the ACTUAL plan?" Weiss asked, looking at Ruby.

Ruby looked out of the window for a moment, an idea forming in her head as she went. "Alright… Weiss, I need you to lure it under that observation deck…" She pointed at a small, boxed off room hanging by a few cables to the ceiling. "Goris… how good is your throwing arm?"

 ** _LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK_**

Weiss darted from cover to cover, tossing grenades at the massive robot as she went. She noticed the plasma itself was merely flowing off of the thing's armor plating like water over rocks, but the EMP that followed each blast appeared to make the robot flinch. She dove behind a large chunk of scrap metal, wincing as she felt the heat of a bolt of plasma miss her by a few inches.

Weiss primed another grenade, but stopped when she heard a mix of a scream and a laugh come from above her. She looked up, only to see Ruby fly overhead and land on the control block she was trying to lure the scorpion under. Suddenly, Ruby's obscure plan got a lot clearer, and a lot crazier. Weiss threw her last grenade, forcing the X-42 back another few feet. She checked her Pip, noticing all she had left was the odd cluster Ruby had handed her earlier.

Weiss looked backwards, noticing Goris was staying behind cover a few feet away. "GORIS!"

"WHAT?" The deathclaw screamed in response.

"DISTRACT IT!"

Goris raised an eyebrow. "WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?"

"SOMETHING STUPID!" Without waiting for a response, Weiss darted at the scorpion. She didn't look back, but she could hear Goris yelling at the machine, and noticed its beady, robotic eyes focusing on something behind her. _'Alright… now or never!'_ With that, Weiss sprinted at the machine before ducking down, sliding underneath it. As she passed under the creature's head, she pulled the pin on the MFC cluster and forced the entire bundle into the gap in the armor between the head and the body.

Weiss cleared the X-42's undercarriage and immediately got to her feet, loosing as little momentum as possible. She turned on a dime and sprinted full-tilt towards Goris, leaping as she passed the machine's head. As she passed it, the cluster went off, throwing her a good thirty feet to land at Goris' feet. She turned around, admiring her handiwork.

The blast hadn't been enough to blow the thing's head off, but it had thrown it onto it's back… directly beneath the control block Ruby was standing on. Ruby drew _Christine_ , using the axe head to quickly slice through three of the support cables. As she cleared the pod, jumping off and landing with a roll a few feet away from Weiss and Goris, the structure collapsed, dragging the pod and all of the connected catwalks to land directly on top of the X-42.

Ruby stood up, shaking off the impact of the landing. She looked at the wreckage and smiled, giggling at the sheer amount of carnage. She turned around, only to find herself face to face with a very angry Weiss. "Well… that ended nicely." Ruby said, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly.

"Ended nicely? ENDED NICELY?! YOU ALMOST GOT YOURSELF KILLED!"

Ruby recoiled, not expecting Weiss to react to victory like this. "Weiss… I can explain…"

Weiss grabbed Ruby by the shoulders, pulling her into a tight hug. "Please… please don't do anything that stupidly dangerous again."

Ruby nodded into Weiss' shoulder. "Alright, alright. No more dangerous stunts… for now."

"What was that last part?"

"Nothing, nothing." Ruby pulled away from Weiss' hug, pointing up towards the door on the upper balcony. "Now let's go get your brain back!"

 ** _LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK_**

The door slid away, groaning from the rust and grime caused by age. The trio walked into a large, semicircular room. The walls were covered in monitors and readouts, bathing the room in an eerie amber glow. The group stepped forward, walking up a set of stairs to the second half of the room, which was raised a half-story above the rest. Floating in the center of the upper tier was a large sphere attached to a set of monitors, facing away from the group. Weiss stepped forward, clearing her throat to gain the thing's attention.

The sphere spun around, it's monitors turning to face the irritated heiress. Weiss noted that the robot was very similar to those of the Think Tank, the only difference being the 'eyes'. One monitor was cracked slightly, and the screen itself was black. The remaining eye looked… tired, as if it had just woken up.

"Hello there! I am the great Dr. Mob-"

Weiss jammed her plasma pistol against Mobius' good eye monitor. "My brain. Now."

The eye widened in terror, before the terror slowly gave way to realization. "OH! That angry chap… it's in the jar over there…" Mobius bobbed slightly, 'gesturing' towards a large apparatus behind him that, sure enough, included a large glass jar containing a floating brain. Without another word to the mad scientist, Weiss stepped around Mobius and walked over to where her brain was floating in biomed gel.

Weiss stepped up to the glass, still in shock at the sight. The idea of her brain, the thing that made her body tick, was floating a few mere inches away from her in a jar was… mind boggling, to say the least. Weiss looked around the apparatus looking for any sign of a button or control panel. _'Alright… how do I send this back to the Sin-'_

 _"Oh dust, you found me."_

Weiss froze. She looked up, noticing her brain had slowly begun to bob up and down in the biogel. She tilted her head slightly, confused. "Did you just…"

Weiss heard a crackle come from a small speaker positioned just below the glass container, followed by a shockingly familiar voice. _"Talk? Oh don't act so surprised. I'm capable of running your body without even being inside your head; basic speech is mere child's play. Now, I assume you are here to get me back into that thick skull of yours…"_

Weiss eyed the container suspiciously. All but one of the questions she had for the brain had disappeared from her mind. "Why… why do you sound like Winter?"

The brain let out a light chuckle. _"Well, she IS better than us in every way! She is smarter, better in combat, and don't even get me started on those glorious curves-"_

Weiss covered the speaker with her hand, shuddering at the mental image her own brain was weaving. "Alright I get the point! Now, let's just get back to the Sink so we can get you back in my head."

Weiss' brain scoffed. _"HA! And what makes you think I WANT to be back in there?! It's so cramped and dark… and can your head do this?"_ The glass container slowly began to vibrate, sending waves through the biogel. The brain let out a sensual moan. _"Oh my GOD that feels amazing!"_

"OK YOU CAN STOP NOW!" Weiss yelled at the brain. "Now… what would it take to convince you to come back?"

 _"Well… I do have a few things in mind…"_ The brain chuckled.

Weiss let out an irritated grunt. _'ugh… are we sure this isn't Yang's brain?'_ "Alright, name your terms."

 _"First: Showers. Whenever you have access, please take one. The feeling of warm water making its way down our back as we…"_

Weiss nodded, cutting the voice off. "Alright. Next?"

The brain let out a slight giggle. _"More… you know… personal stimula-"_

Weiss kicked the side of the containment apparatus, hoping Ruby wasn't listening to the conversation. "NOPE! I am NOT lowering myself to that level."

 _"Well than… what other good reasons are there for me to be back in there?"_

Weiss thought about it for a moment. "Let's see… Don't you want to see things? Smell them? _Taste_ them?"

The brain mumbled something about strawberries and gunpowder, but quickly shut up when Weiss let out a cocky grin. _"I have no need for experience; I have thousands of tastes and smells catalogued in this location's database for me to enjoy!"_

"Alright, I'll give you that… but what about touch? The warm sun on our face, the cool autumn breeze blowing through our hair, the-"

 _"The delicate yet absolutely invigorating sensation of a touch on the shoulder from our young team lea-"_

Weiss slapped a hand over the speaker, blushing enough to make Ruby's cloak look white in comparison. "Yes… that too. Now, don't you want to be able to experience life in the outside world again? To be free from this… this _fish bowl_!"

 _"Well… we have had some fun times together…"_ The brain let out what Weiss swore was a reminiscent sigh. _"Childhood weapon training with Winter, completely disregarding Father's wishes by applying to Beacon, meeting the team… Ugh, fine. Just give me a few minutes and I'll meet you back at the tower… Au Revoir!"_ And with that, a circular hatch in the bottom of the tank opened up, and the brain disappeared with a near-toilet flushing noise.

Weiss turned around, surprised to see Ruby and Goris were already gone. She looked around for a moment before noticing Dr. Mobius floating next to a table looking over the lower section of the room. She walked up next to the mad scientist, noticing all of his monitors were turned off. She shrugged it off, assuming Ruby and Goris had handled him themselves, and moved to go down the stairs.

She made it about halfway down the stairs before she stopped, noticing something on one of the steps. She bent down and picked it up, realizing it was a small tin of mints labeled 'Mentats'. _'I guess I'll save these for later… I definitely could use a palette cleanser.'_ With that, the white haired girl walked down the remaining steps and left the room.

Weiss entered the cavernous X-42 testing room, and noticed the lights were off once more. She stepped forward onto the balcony, looking for any sign of Ruby or Goris. "Guys? Hello? Where are you dolts hid-" The lights snapped on, blinding Weiss instantly. She regained her senses and looked down on the massive room, shocked by the sight. All she could see was the X-42, alive and well, staring directly at her.

Weiss ducked and flipped a metal table over into a barricade, sending ancient clipboards and documents flying. She checked her Pip, disheartened when she noticed she was almost out of cartridges for her plasma pistol. _'Well if it wants me, it'll have to fight for it.'_ She loaded the second to last cartridge into the weapon, rolled sideways and took aim at the massive robot. She prepared to pull the trigger, but froze when she got a clearer view of the robot…

…And the fifteen-year-old huntress in training that was sitting on top of it, Pip-Boy connected to a port in the back of its head, giggling like a psychopath.

 ** _LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK_**

Ruby angrily slammed her fist on the arm of the couch back in the Sink. "BUT WEISS!"

Weiss looked down at her teammate's childish performance. "No buts. I am NOT letting you keep the damn robot!"

Ruby pointed at Roxie, who was still sleeping while her leg was mending. "You get to keep a dog!"

"That's because a dog can't destroy everything in its path if it gets bored! And you already have a p-"

Goris growled from the next room over. "I suggest you choose your next words very, VERY carefully."

Weiss closed her mouth, not wanting to get mauled by their large roommate. Instead, she stepped forward and sat down on the couch next to Ruby, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "How about this; once we get back to Vegas, I'll make it up to you. Deal?"

Ruby looked up, locking eyes with Weiss for a moment before leaning over and hugging the white-haired heiress tightly. "Deal."

Weiss blushed, enjoying the embrace for a moment before slowly prying Ruby's arms off. Weiss slowly stood up, turning to face Ruby. "Alright. We've gotten my brain back, and you managed to kill Mobius. Now all that's left to do is go downstairs and get those idiots in jars to cough up a way for us to go home, and put my brain back in my head."

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Killed Mobius? What are you talking about?"

"After I got my brain to come back, I turned around and saw him just floating there, monitors powered off."

Ruby pondered this for a moment, a very confused expression on her face, before her eyes flew open in realization. "OH! He must have fallen asleep. I managed to fix his monitor, and the sudden need for power to three screens instead of two probably overloaded his-"

"Wait… WHY WOULD YOU HELP FIX HIM! HE HAS BEEN TRYING TO BRUTALLY MURDER US SINCE WE ARRIVED!"

"Weiss, it's not what you think; Whenever he sent out the bots, or ranted about killing the think tank off in a broadcast, he was, well…" Ruby crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue, pointing a finger towards her temple and spinning it, doing the universal hand sign for 'crazy'. "…tripping absolute balls."

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose. "That… actually explains a lot. Now, let's just go downstairs and explain this to Dr. Klein, and hopefully get a way home."

Ruby rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Yeah, about that…"

 ** _LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK_**

The elevator doors slid open and Weiss darted forward, expression of unbridled fury on her face. She noticed the lighting in the hallway leading into the Think Tank had changed from a mellow blue to a deep red, and the odd feeling of calm that she had associated with the room on her last visit was gone. She reached the end of the upward tilted hallway, entering the massive central research room of the Think Tank.

Weiss looked around the room, immediately seeing Dr. Klein floating in the center of the room, two of his colleagues on each side. She walked over to the scientist, firmly planting herself only three feet from the robot. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by a sharp crackle of static as Klein's speaker powered up. "THE LOBOTOMITE HAS RETURNED! I SEE YOU HAVE COLLECTED THE TECHNOLOGIES FOR US! NOW, PLEASE TELL ME YOU HAVE DEALT WITH THAT SCUMBAG MOBIUS."

Weiss only glared daggers at the robotic apparatus in front of her, crossing her arms angrily. "No Klein, you listen to ME. What exactly was the point of us collecting those technologies for you?"

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME THAT WAY! I AM DR. KLEIN, RULER OF THE THINK TANK!"

Weiss groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Alright. Could I please talk to one of the scientists here that is slightly less INSANE!"

Klein let out a deep laugh. "HA! THOSE TRAITORS ATTEMPTED TO SUBDUE ME WHEN THEY DISCOVERED MY PLAN. 'KLEIN, PLEASE BE HUMANE! KLEIN, WHY RISK SO MANY LIVES? KELIN, WHERE ARE MY VIBRATOR BATTERIES?!' THE WASTES OF SPACE TRIED TO HALT PROGRESS, TRIED TO HALT SCIENCE! NATURALLY, THERE WAS ONLY ONE THING TO DO; LOCK THEIR MINDS AND FINISH PREPARATIONS FOR EXPERIMENTS ON THE OUTSIDE WORLD MYSELF."

Weiss stayed adamant, showing as little emotion as possible to the robot. _'So, Mobius did tell Ruby the truth about Klein…'_ "You know you are mad, right? Experimenting on the outside world? Think of the innocent people you would be killing witho-"

"IT IS NOT MY FAULT THEY WOULD BE GETTING IN THE WAY OF SCIENCE! THANKS TO YOU STUPID LOBOTOMITE'S EFFORTS, I WILL BE ABLE TO BREAK FREE OF THIS SHITHOLE!"

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "So, there is no way we are going to be able to talk you out of this?"

"I MUST FORWARD MY SCIENTIFIC REAS- WAIT, 'WE'?"

Weiss merely let out a soft chuckle before stepping backwards and inputting a quick command on her Pip-Boy. Suddenly, the upper wall behind Mobius exploded into the room, showering the chamber with concrete and computer parts. There was a brief moment of sunlight shining through the gap, before it was eclipsed by the shadow of the X-42 Giant Roboscorpion climbing through the hole.

 ** _LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK_**

"Alright, pre-leaving checklist. Main facility on lockdown?"

"Check."

"Mobius locked up?"

"Check."

"Weapons stored?"

"Check."

"Bed made?"

"Check."

"X-42 set free?"

"Ugh… Check."

"Alright then... we are ready to go as soon as I get my brain back in place." Weiss looked up from her clip-board, placing it on Central's table. "Ruby, please don't kill anything while I'm getting my brain put back in. That is all I ask of you."

 _"But killing things is fun! Especially when they don't see it coming."_

Weiss jumped. She looked down at her armor, irritated expression on her face. "What is it with you and killing things?!"

 _"What, you don't like my attitude in life? How about I get my cousin in her to teach you a quick lesson…"_ Weiss had no time to question the AI before a sharp crackle flowed out of the speaker on her chest, followed by music being played on a flute and a drum ( _AN: Fallout 3 Enclave Radio – Yankee Doodle_ ).

 _"SOLDIER, WHAT IS YOUR MAJOR MALFUNCTION?! YOU ARE NOT AT PARADE RES- Wait; this is NOT a set of Medic T-45!?"_

Weiss only rolled her eyes and reached for her back. She found the small button to eject the AI holotape at the base of her neck and did so, grinning as the device clattered to the floor. She picked up the holotape, placed it on the table, and sent a ball of molten plasma through it with her sidearm.

Weiss holstered her weapon and brushed off her hands. "Alright, where was I… Oh yes…" Weiss turned to face Ruby, who was staring, slack jawed, at the pile of goo that had once been a holotape. "What?"

Ruby only gestured wildly towards the bubbling green puddle. "YOU JUST MURDERED A ROBOT!"

"Yes, a robot that wanted to kill people; therefore, I just did the world a favor." Weiss said smugly.

Ruby raised a finger as if to retort, but quickly lowered it as she realized Weiss was correct. Weiss pulled her armor off, leaving herself in a pair of shorts and a tank top. Ignoring Ruby's staring, she stepped towards the Auto-Doc, inputting the commands to replace her brain and her heart. She turned around, facing Ruby. "Are you getting your spine put back in?"

Ruby shook her head. "No… I like the cybernetics. They give me…" She jumped up, propelling herself with her foot off of the edge of the table into a full backflip, landing perfectly a mere foot from Weiss. "…a bit of an edge in combat."

Weiss merely shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose. She stepped backwards into the Auto-Doc, throwing Ruby a final grin before closing the door and beginning the week-long procedure.

 ** _LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK_**

 **One week of weapon maintenance, holotape games and arguing with appliances later**

Ruby lifted the hatch to the roof. She had just finished helping Goris pack the group's equipment, and was looking for Weiss. She had checked every room in the Sink for the girl, but had had no luck. As a last resort, Ruby went out onto the balcony and climbed the ladder accessing the spire's roof. Ruby looked around, and noticed something on the ground. She bent down, picking up the object; a tin container labeled 'Mentats'. The small tin had a twenty-four slot blister pack on the inside, with every single slot crumpled and empty of any previous contents.

Ruby was about to climb back down the ladder, but stopped when she heard a noise from the other side of the roof. She turned around and noticed Weiss, standing about halfway between the ladder and the roof's edge, staring out at the sunset. Ruby walked forward, approaching her teammate. "Weiss… it's time to get going back to the Mojave. Ready?"

Weiss mumbled something Ruby couldn't understand.

"What did you say?"

"I said go on without me."

Ruby raised an eyebrow, confused. "What do you mean? We need to get back; Blake and Yang are probably worried sick!"

Weiss suddenly turned around, and Ruby could see there was something wrong with her teammate. Weiss' eyes were red and puffy, a sign that she had been crying. The girl seemed to be shaking, despite the warm desert wind that was still blowing. Her hair was frazzled, pulled out of its ponytail blowing off in all directions. There was a slight twitch in her left eye, and Ruby could see the veins in her forehead throbbing dangerously.

Ruby took a step forward, arm outstretched to comfort Weiss. "Weiss… what's wrong? If you need to talk about something, I am here for y-"

"What the hell is the point of living out here anyway?!" Weiss half asked, half screamed.

Ruby was taken aback by the question. "What do you mean?"

Weiss took a half-step backwards towards the edge. "Why should we even try? This world is dead, and there is no way back home!"

Ruby realized something. "Weiss… alright, I know you are stressed right now, but don't let those Mentat things cloud your judge-"

Weiss scoffed, taking another half-step backwards. "No Ruby, my mind isn't clouded; It has never been this clear."

"Weiss… You're scaring me…"

"Ruby... Give me one good reason not to jump off the ledge right here, right now." To make her point, Weiss took a full step back, bringing her about five feet from the ledge.

Ruby panicked, racking her mind for ideas. "What about the wasteland? As huntresses, it is our duty to protect people from-"

"The wasteland has done perfectly fine for the last two centuries without a huntress. Why would it need one now?" Weiss took another step back.

"What about Blake and Yang?! What do I tell them?"

"They'll get over it, and so will you. Hell, after a while, they'll probably be happy that the team bitch is gone." Weiss took another step back. She could feel her heel resting on the edge. She closed her eyes and stretched her arms out. "Ruby… I'm sorry, but I can't do this. I hope you come to understand my choice." She put one leg back, dangling it over the edge, and slowly leaned into the weight, letting gravity take over. She could hear Ruby panicking, coming up with tiny excuses for her to stop, but her mind was made up. Weiss began to lean the rest of the way back, ready for the brief free-fall that would lead to-

"I LOVE YOU!"

Weiss stopped. She put her foot back on the roof, opening her eyes. She saw Ruby on her hands and knees, crying with her eyes tightly screwed shut. Weiss walked over to her broken teammate, kneeling down to her level. "What did you just say?"

Ruby opened her eyes, looking up with a mix of wonder and thankfulness. She choked back a sob, breathing in deeply. "Since the day we met, I've felt a kind of… connection. You were one of the first people outside of family to not completely reject me as nothing but some weirdo who loves guns. You are talented, beautiful, and amazing in every way possible. You are my teammate. You are my partner. You are my best friend. You are my first crush. If you jump, I might as well jump too, because I can't even begin to think about how-"

Ruby was cut off by Weiss tackling her, pulling her into a hug. Weiss was now sobbing just as hard, if not harder than Ruby. She buried her face in Ruby's hair, taking in the scent; a mix of roses, strawberries, and gunpowder. "Ruby… I had no idea you felt …"

Ruby shushed Weiss. "It's ok… just don't scare me like that again, alright?"

Weiss pulled away from Ruby's ear, nodding as she wiped the younger girl's tears away. "Ruby… I'm so sorry. I just… I thought they were just mints. I took them, and my anxiety spiraled out of control. I didn't think any of you even liked me that much, let alone… this."

"Weiss, the team loves you. _I_ love you. We may joke around sometimes, but we wouldn't ever want you to go this far. We are always here when you need us. What else are friends for?" Ruby grabbed Weiss by the hand, pulling her towards the hatch. "Alright, now let's get back to the Mojave; Blake and Yang are probably worried about us by n-"

Ruby didn't even get to finish her sentence before Weiss grabbed her by the midsection and abruptly pulled her in. The next thing Ruby knew, the two had locked lips, the taste of mint with a hint of blueberry overwhelming Ruby's senses. A few moments later, Weiss pulled away, icy blue eyes locking with Ruby's dazed silver ones. "Thanks." She leaned in, whispering into Ruby's ear. "That went well for a first kiss, don't you think?" With that, the white-haired girl nodded her head towards the ladder. "Now let's get going, you big dolt."

Ruby could only let out a small, excited squeak before fainting, falling forwards into Weiss' arms.

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 _AN: Well, what did you guys think? Was going with WhiteRose a good call, or do you all want to feed me to an angry deathclaw now? Please, feel free to PM me or leave a Review. On that note, time for some review responses!_

 _FIREBALL: Well, you are very… enthusiastic, to say the least. I don't know if it's just because of the capital letters, but all I can see when I read this comment is Nora screaming it at the top of her lungs. I assume (and correct me if I'm wrong) by 'them' you mean RWBY/Fallout crossovers, and by 'Where it was like this' you mean ones that put RWBY characters into the Fallout universe instead of vice versa, in which case I agree; There are very few fics where team RWBY is thrown into the wasteland, so I decided I might as well do it myself. Thanks for the compliment, and I hope you like the rest of the story as well. Have an amazing day._

 _Icecold1039: Alright, I could be a dick while responding to this, but I'm going to do my best to stay civilized. First off, reading more than the first chapter before you post something so judgmental might be a good idea next time. Along with this, you know there is a difference between constructive criticism and just being a dick, right? I am alright with you thinking my story is bad, but the least you could do is tell me what could be improved and I'll see if I can amend it. If you review my story again, please keep these things in mind. Good day sir or madam._

 _Weasel AKA boundedsumo: Honestly, I added the Auto-Axe for fun, and because the idea of Ruby wielding one is fucking amazing. As for the chapter size, I try to balance out quality and quantity with this fic; I do my best to get a decent sized chapter out at least once a week. While they may not be the longest of chapters, I believe the quality of each should make up for it. Remember: it's not the size that matters; it's how you use it! Anyway, thanks for the input, and have a good day!_

 _Shaneman17: While it would mix things up a bit, I do not plan on adding our good old friend from Vault 101 to the Mojave Wasteland. I honestly just added the stuff from Fo3 just to mix things up, see how it goes. As for the thing with the dogs; I have no idea why, but that statement gave me the mental image of Zwei as a cyberdog, so thanks for that. Thanks for the review, and have an absolutely amazing day!_

 _Elite Slayer 242: Glad you like my little tale so far. Hey, if you think Ruby with an auto-axe is overkill, just wait until Yang gets her hands on_ ** _Data removed to avoid spoilers_** _. Sorry for this not being another Zion chapter; I have the next one of those currently in the works. As for the Sierra Madre, I have a few surprises planned involving that, so just hold onto your seat and prepare for amazingness! Thank you again for reading, and make sure to have an amazing day!_

 _Cole Tyger: While giving Ruby a Vegas-Style Crescent Rose would be nice; I think the scythe fighting style would be a lot less effective without Ruby having semblance access. I hope the proton-axe rifle stock was enough for now. I'm glad I did Weiss' gear well so far, and I have a couple of modifications in mind that should make it even more… 'Weiss'. The Nuka Break tie-in was just to calm a friend down, who literally chewed me out for not realizing I had accidentally f**ked up the Nuka-Break timeline by adding Goris to the story, as he is confirmed to be the one in the abandoned mine during season two. As for the FO3 stuff, here was my train of thought with that: Far Harbor hype - Replaying Point Lookout for nostalgia - Replaying The Pitt because I was bored - Mental image of Ruby chasing a deathclaw with an Auto-Axe because why the fuck not. As for the other stuff, it was just my personal favorite gear in FO3 that seemed the most 'Ruby' without giving her anything too overpowered. I probably won't add a MIRV, but who needs it when you load Ester with the Tiny Tots mini-nuke? I'm glad the story is balanced, and I hope it continues to please! I will keep up the good work, and make sure to have an amazing day!_

 _Captaindickscratcher: Yup, everyone is getting the most out of the Fallout universe's wacky yet amazing armory. Thanks for the faction ideas, they will definitely be brought into consideration. As for the Five-Armies finale, I have something planned for the very end already that I think will more than make up for the lack of Atlas/Grimm. Good day sir!_

 _Allard-Liao: I am SO SORRY for missing your PM! Please don't hate me! While I am probably not going to give her the Fist of Rawr itself because of a few reasons connected to the Lonesome Road DLC, I do have something in store for her that should make up for it. Sorry again for missing the PM, and have an astonishingly amazing day!_

 _Guest: First things first, I have a request for all readers: If you are a returning guest, please set a nickname besides 'guest' and use it when you can. It makes responding a LOT easier. Glad you liked the chapter, and there is no need to get butterflies; I like to make sure all of my readers and commenters are acknowledged to the fullest. While full-blown lemon scenes would make the story more interesting, I just don't think it would be a good idea with how I'm pacing the story (And I can't write good word-porn to save my own freaking life). Don't worry, there will be plenty of borderline smut; just rated upper R level, or possibly softcore if I am very bored and it fits the story, but not quite any XXX grade stuff. Thank you, and have an amazing day too!_

 _Mandalore the Freedom: If you think this was overkill, I originally thought about giving Goris a set of Ripper extensions for his claws, but decided against it. As we PM'd about, I have something on the backburner mentally for the Chosen One, so don't worry. Glad I am developing the characters well; that is normally the one thing I absolutely SUCK at doing. Good day sir!_

 _Dragonsoul1: Well, you flatter me. I am glad you like the story, and I hope I continue to give this crossover the justice it deserves. Have an absolutely amazing day!_

 _I have one more thing to bring up: I currently have an_ ** _extreme_** _case of writer's block for the Zion Canyon arc of this story. I have a few key moments planned out (The end battle/dialogue, and a couple of cheeseball funny moments), but I am completely lost besides that. Any suggestions for the next chapters (I plan on having 2 more in Zion) are GREATLY appreciated, so please feel free to PM or review with any ideas._

 _Also, I am currently on vacation in Louisiana w/ the family, so I might be late on a couple of posts. 4_ _th_ _of July should mark me getting back to regular posts._

 _Well guys, that's it for this week's broadcast. I have decided to try and make Monday the weekly upload day. By uploading on Monday, that gives me Monday and Tuesday to get feedback/brainstorm, Wednesday-Friday to write the damn thing, and the weekend to email my beta/do final edits. Sorry again for the delay in posting this, it just takes longer to edit massive chapters. Thanks for reading, have an absolutely amazing day, and just remember kiddies; don't feed the Yao-Guai!_

 _Until next time,_

 _-DovahCourier_


	16. Chapter 16 - Return to Vegas

_AN_ _: Hello Readers, DovahCourier here! Alright; I am an idiot. Long story short; whenever you use a relative's computer to write a 7k word chapter, make sure your computer at home can read what you have written so far. So, as I am currently too angry to rewrite the entirety of the next Zion chapter, here is one last Ruby/Weiss chapter that I wrote while on the road back to Denver._

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 _I do not own RWBY or Fallout: New Vegas (or Fallout 2). Those belong to Rooster Teeth, Bethesda, and Obsidian (and Black Isle Studios)._

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The Tale of Dust and Sand

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter sixteen: Return to Vegas

Ruby's world was spinning. She watched as the dull grey metal and blue lights of the Sink's balcony faded away in a blur, and were slowly replaced by dark browns and tans of rock and sand. Then, as suddenly as it had started, the spinning stopped.

Ruby looked around, quickly realizing she had landed in the Drive-In where she and Weiss' entire adventure had begun. She turned around; noticing Weiss sprawled out on the ground, passed out. She stepped towards the girl, storing the small device that had teleported them back to the Mojave in her Pip-Boy. She dropped to her knees, checking Weiss for any major injuries.

After making sure Weiss wasn't in immediate danger, Ruby stood up, scanning her environment with more detail. She noticed Goris and Roxie, waiting patiently a few feet away. She beckoned them over. "Alright, Weiss is out cold, and someone apparently took the set of wheels that got us here. There is a large NCR outpost to the west of here; if we hurry, we can make it by sunrise."

Goris nodded, throwing the unconscious Schnee over his shoulder. The group began walking west, soon seeing the glow from the outpost on the horizon. Suddenly, Goris stopped. Ruby turned around, facing her large albino friend. "What's wrong?"

"I smell something… wrong." With that, the deathclaw broke into a sprint, Roxie in tow, heading northeast. Ruby followed for a minute, before stopping next to Goris on a ridge. Ruby was about to ask what was wrong, but stopped when a strong stench hit her nose. It was the smell of burning wood, along with something much more… foul. It smelled like when Ruby had accidently set off a clip of flame Dust while her Aura was down, but on a much larger scale. She looked around for the source of the stench, and froze when she found it.

Below them, Nipton was on fire. People were running in all directions, meager possessions or young children under their arms. There were men, wearing a mix of leather and sports equipment, chasing down the townsfolk and burning every building in sight. Ruby watched as a man was grabbed on both sides by a pair of the attackers and hauled to the center of town, where he was thrown onto a massive… _'Oh dust…so that's what the smell is coming from.'_

All emotions left the young huntress, and replaced by pure fury. Without turning to face Goris, she spoke in a commanding tone. "Get Weiss to the outpost and send help."

"What are you planning on doing?"

Ruby pulled her cloak's hood up, obscuring her face. "My duty as a huntress;" She drew _Christine_ and slammed a clip of HP rounds into the receiver with a satisfying click. "slaying monsters."

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Ruby peeked out from behind a large rock. She could see a small family- two parents and a young girl- running towards the western edge of town, legionnaire hot on their tail with a pair of machetes. She inhaled as she lined up a shot between the man's eyes, deciding to trust instinct over VATS. _'This is no man. This is a monster; no worse than an Ursa.'_ With this, she exhaled and pulled the trigger.

The round caught him right between the eyes, spraying a mix of chunks of skull and grey matter backwards, and sending the now headless corpse into a backwards cartwheel. The family stopped running, looking around for their savior. Ruby stepped out from cover, walking slowly towards the group. "Are you alright?"

The man, who Ruby assumed was the father, stepped forward, tears in his eyes. "Thank you…"

Ruby put a hand up, cutting the man off. "I'm just doing my job. Now, head west to the outpost. I'll send anyone else that way if I can." The man nodded, grabbing his child and throwing her onto his shoulders. The trio ran, making it to the town gate and heading for safety.

Ruby continued through the town, silently taking out legionnaires and sending townspeople towards the outpost to the west. A few minutes later, the only place she hadn't cleared out was the main street that ran the length of the town. She climbed to the top of what was left of the general store, scouting out the situation. There was a massive pile of burning wood where she assumed the town hall had once been. She didn't look too closely at the flames, and hoped that the bones in the flames she had seen were only shadows playing with her mind.

Standing in front of the flames, facing away from Ruby, was a massive legionnaire, standing at least seven feet tall. On his back was a massive sword that was at least as long as Ruby was tall. The man turned around, revealing his armor to be much heavier than the rest of his army. It was made of masterfully crafted metal plates, lined with red and gold. He wore a full-head helmet, carved to resemble something similar to a cross between a man and a monstrous bull, with massive horns and a long beard. The man stepped forward, addressing the legionnaires that lined the street.

"THIS WILL TEACH THAT DAMN COURIER TO RETALIATE! WHEN THE LEGION RAZES A TOWN, IT STAYS RAZED!" The crowd cheered, shaking their weapons in the air. "NOW, BEGIN MAKING CAMP! WE WILL USE THIS POSITION TO ATTACK THE OUTP-" The man was interrupted by a much lighter armored legionnaire tapping him on the shoulder and whispering in his ear. "WHAT!? ALRIGHT MEN, NEW ORDERS; THERE IS APPARENTLY A SPY IN THE TOWN; FIND AND KILL THEM!"

 _'Son of a Beowolf…'_ Ruby took aim, positioning the man's mask in her sights. _'Well, might as well chop of this snake's head…'_ She pulled the trigger…

…and watched as the bullet pinged off of the man's helmet like it was nothing.

Ruby checked her clip, kicking herself when she realized she was still loaded with hollow point rounds. _'STUPIDSTUPIDSTUPI-'_

"THERE! GET ME HER HEAD!"

The man's angry order snapped Ruby back into reality. She swapped out for a clip of AP rounds and went to aim for him again, but was too late. He had already disappeared. Pushing this to the back of her mind, Ruby opened fire on the wave of legionnaires that was currently charging her position. She managed to down at least twenty of them before they began to get too close to aim quickly enough. She flipped her rifle around, igniting the axe blade just in time to swing at a legionnaire as he topped the ladder onto her roof. The blade went through his armor like a knife through hot butter, bisecting him at the waist and cauterizing the wound behind it.

Ruby jumped off the roof, digging the blade into the building's brick wall to slow her fall. She landed and rolled, finding herself in the middle of the main road, surrounded by legionnaires. She slung her rifle over her shoulder, quickly inputting a few commands into her Pip. Next thing she knew, the legionnaires were backing away from the spinning, plasma-infused blades of her Auto-Axe. A few of them charged her, but were quickly cut down. "ALRIGHT YOU ANIMALS; COME AND GET IT!"

She stepped forward, prepared to cut down anything in her path, but stopped when she heard a voice yell out from behind the crowd. "RELEASE THE BEASTS!" With that, every soldier in the street cleared out of the way, leaving Ruby alone in the street. She looked around, confused. _'I guess I was too much for th-'_ Ruby's thought was cut off by a roar of anger from behind her. She turned around, and was met with the sight of… something.

There were three of them. Massive humanoid creatures, wearing nothing but chains and leather armor, which was riveted to their flesh. Their skin was a brownish-green, covered in scars and bulging with veins. Each one wielded a massive hammer, the head of which was at least the size of Ruby's head. The things locked eyes on the young huntress and charged, bellowing deep screams of anger.

Ruby quickly stored her Auto-Axe, drawing _Christine_. She lined up a shot on one of the beasts and fired, taking its head clean off. Her next shot was off slightly, hitting the next creature in the chest and leaving a fist-sized hole where its heart once was. She took aim on the final creature, placing its massive forehead in her sights, before pulling the trigger.

 _CLICK_

"SON OF A…" Ruby didn't have time to finish her sentence before she was caught in the chest with the creature's hammer. She crashed into a wall a good twenty feet back, and could hear at least half of her ribs crack with the impact. She tried to get up, but the massive creature was now on top of her. It raised its hammer, and Ruby closed her eyes in preparation for the end.

 _CRACK_

Ruby opened her eyes to see the creature had been thrown a few feet away… and that it had been blown in half. She looked around for a moment before finally seeing what had killed the beast.

The eyes were the first thing Ruby noticed; two pairs of glowing, red eyes peering through the smoke. Next, she saw the armor; basic jeans and combat boots, military-grade chest and head coverage, and long leather dusters. After this, she saw their weapons; one wielded a sniper rifle large enough to make _Christine_ look like a pea shooter, the other dual wielding massive revolvers made of a black metal with gold highlights.

The pair worked in tandem with military precision, staying back to back while slowly picking off the legionnaires that were charging at them. At one point, the rifle-wielder slung said rifle over their shoulder, quickly drawing a pair of brass knuckles and turning the nearest legionnaire's face to putty. A few moments later, all that remained of their opponents was a pile of a dozen crimson-clad bodies.

Ruby tried to call out to her apparent saviors, but was stopped when someone sprinted in from behind the armored phantoms, sliding to a halt next to Ruby. Next thing Ruby knew, Weiss had wrapped her arms around her midsection and had buried her head into her shoulder, tears streaming down her face. "WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT GETTING YOURSELF KILLED!?"

Ruby tried to respond, but could only grunt in pain. Weiss quickly got out a doctor's bag and injected Ruby with a pair of super-stimpacks. A few moments later, Ruby's ribcage was repaired. She breathed in deeply, throwing a sly grin at the furious-yet-beautiful girl on top of her. "Thanks." Weiss opened her mouth to yell, but couldn't find the words. Instead, she just planted a quick kiss on Ruby's forehead before standing up, pulling the young markswoman up with her.

The armored figure with the sniper rifle stepped towards Ruby, stopping right in front of her. The person reached towards their neck, unlocking their helmet and pulling it away. Ruby immediately recognized the stark white hair and extremely fair skin tone as Ranger Ghost from the Mojave Outpost. "Alright; why is it every courier in a hundred miles of here ends up having a pair the size of the Republic?"

Ruby laughed at the comment, reaching out to shake the Ranger's hand. Ghost obliged, nearly crushing her hand with a massive, steel plated gauntlet. "Now, I only have one question." Ghost gestured towards the large trail of legion bodies reaching from the remains of town hall to the general store. "Who the hell did that?"

Hesitantly, Ruby raised a hand. Ghost's eyes widened in shock for a moment before her face broke out into a massive grin. "Jackson! You need to come see this…"

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"Well kid, thanks to you, about half of the town made it back here alive." Ranger Jackson leaned forward, putting his elbows onto his desk. Jackson and Ruby sat in the main office of the Mojave Outpost. "And, if I counted right, almost three dozen of Caesar's dogs bit the dust before we even got there! This deserves a reward." Before Ruby could respond, the man leaned down below the desk, rummaging through a box. He came back up and placed three things on the table; a small portable radio, a small jewelry box, and a much larger, rectangular box.

Jackson picked up the small box. "Something this big deserves at least some merit, so;" He opened it, revealing a small pin in the shape of a bear standing on its hind legs, forepaws in the air. "I hereby give you the title of honorary Ranger. You will have access to our safehouse…" He pointed at a map on the wall, showing a small dot a few kilometers south of Vegas. "…Get your own radio for reinforcements or supply call-ins…" He gestured towards the radio on the table. "…And a little something extra. I will warn you, it's a bit beat up and may need some repairs, but I think it should do the job well." With this, he opened the larger box handed it to Ruby. She looked inside, and was taken aback by the box's contents.

Inside of the box sat a massive revolver, metal plated in faded chrome with a logo identical to the pin engraved in the dark wooden handle. Ruby immediately picked the weapon up, spinning it on her trigger finger. She flipped open the cylinder, surprised at how massive each or the chambers was. Jackson slid a box of .45-70 rounds across the table. "First box on the house; you need to buy the rest."

Ruby pocketed the ammunition and slid the Revolver into her hip holster; her 10mm already stored in her Pip. Jackson spoke up again. "Now, I believe the motorcycle we have locked away in the back is yours." Ruby nodded, breathing a sigh of relief. "Well, that's all for now. You're welcome to stay and spend a few caps, or I understand if you want to get home quickly." Ruby stood up, thanked the man, collected her new possessions, and headed for the door.

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The elevator dinged as it reached the 38's penthouse. Ruby walked in, carrying Weiss bridal style for fun. The duo had left Goris and Roxie in one of the rooms on the floor below, not in the mood to break the news of a talking deathclaw to anyone in the suite just yet. They walked into the kitchen, and were greeted by the sight of Yang, Blake, Cass and Boone sitting around the table playing cards. Yang looked up for a moment before returning to her cards, only to do a sudden double-take. She shot up, darting over to Ruby and Weiss.

The brawler grabbed Weiss and Ruby, pulling them into a massive hug. "THANK DUST YOU GUYS ARE ALRIGHT!"

Weiss and Ruby pulled away after a moment, regaining their breath after the bear-hug. Weiss spoke up after a moment. "So… how are you guys doing?"

Ruby threw an arm around Weiss' shoulder, pulling her in close. "Really Weiss? We go missing for two weeks and you open with _that_?"

Before either girl could continue, Cass burst out laughing. Weiss raised an eyebrow, confused. "What's up with her?"

The cowgirl wiped a tear from her eye before tapping Blake on the shoulder and pointing at Ruby and Weiss. "I fuckin' called it!"

Blake and Yang looked at the newcomers for a moment before looks of realization formed on both of their faces. Yang immediately started laughing. "Really, Rubes; You have a thing for Ice Queen?"

Ruby blushed, her face matching the cloak she was now doing her best to hide in. Weiss stepped forward, fists clenched, until she was mere inches from Yang's face. "Now listen here Xiao-Long; just because you are single doesn't give you the right to-"

Blake laughed, standing up and moving next to Yang. "Who said anything about her being single?" Weiss and Ruby's jaws hit the floor as Yang and Blake immediately started laughing.

After a couple minutes of this, Boone spoke up. "Well, if we're done with our little reunion, how about we talk about where the hell you two have been for the last two weeks."

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Half an hour later, Weiss and Ruby finished recounting the tale of the BigMT and its horrors of science. For the moment, they had omitted anything involving Goris, along with Weiss' breakdown on the roof and the skirmish in Nipton. Yang was the first to break the silence that followed the story. "Nice story; how long did it take for you to come up with it?"

Weiss shot up so fast that she nearly flipped the table. "WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!"

"You almost had me fooled for a minute there; but there is one hole in your story."

"And what would that be?"

"You claim these 'Think Tanks' removed Weiss' heart; you can't remove what doesn't exist in the first pla-"

The cocky brawler was cut off by Ruby chucking her bottle of Nuka, catching Yang in the forehead with a dull thud. "Hey, you want some proof? Here is some proof…" She stood up and put a few commands into her Pip, materializing the massive Auto-Axe in her hands.

Every jaw in the room (besides Ruby and Weiss) was on the floor. Yang raised her hands in defeat. "Alright; you win."

Ruby put the weapon away, smug grin on her face. "Alright; anyone hear form Liz and Vero-" Suddenly, the kitchen door slammed open with a sharp crack. Every eye in the room locked onto the doorway.

Standing in the doorway was Liz. Her leather underarmor was scratched and singed in places, and her duster was frayed and damaged. Her boots and the edges of her duster were coated with a red-brown mildew. A large duffle bag was slung over her shoulder, with a logo saying 'Sierra Madre' embroidered on the side. Her bandana had been removed from her forehead, and was now wrapped around her leg, soaked in blood. There was a new, fresh scar running from her ear to her cheek, following the jawline.

Ruby stepped towards the woman, worried expression on her face. "Oh my god! Liz are you alrigh-"

Before Ruby could finish her sentence, Liz drew a revolver from inside of her coat. It was similar to Lucky, only a lot shorter and easier to conceal. Liz fired, and Ruby could feel the breeze of the bullet as it missed her ear by mere inches. With a scream of fury, Yang shot up and grabbed Liz by the collar, pinning her to the wall.

Liz kneed Yang in the gut with her good leg, forcing her to let go. Before she could attack again, Liz grabbed Yang's arm and pinned it behind her back. "Calm down Yang! I wasn't aiming at your sister." She let go of the brawler and pointed at where the shot had impacted.

On top of the kitchen counter was the splintered remains of a radio, chunks of wood paneling and circuitry scattered across the countertop. Before Yang could question the woman's actions, Liz yelled into the doorway. "CLEAR!"

From down the hall, everyone could hear Veronica's recognizable voice. "Hear that? It's clear. Now, let's introduce you to the rest of our little gang. Don't worry, they don't bite…" Veronica walked into the room, but she was not alone…

Gripping onto one of V's arms for support was a tall woman, face and bald head covered in scars, with a blood-soaked bandage wrapped around her neck.

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 _AN_ _: Well, that was pretty good for something I popped out while on the road in the middle of Kansas, isn't it? Sorry for the short chapter, but I felt adding anything else would risk spoiling the events of the next two chapters (The remaining Zion ones). Alright, it is now time for the Review Responses!_

 _DocHoliday0316_ _: First off, welcome to the story! Glad you like it so far… now, to respond in order of review received: Ch4: Thanks. I will be honest; I was hesitant about making a female Courier. I am glad it has played out well so far! As for the fights, thanks; I really enjoyed writing those particular battles. Ch8: Sorry for the confusion: The pistol Blake got was a 10mm, and the mods I added to it are not from New Vegas, but more from the FO4 weapon crafting system. Just take the base 10mm, add a reflex sight, an extended clip and a suppressor. Ch10: Yeah… this chapter was less 'plot' and more fan service. I knew a LOT of people would want Veronica x Yang to happen, but I already had plans for both of the characters, so I had a bit of fun by having a one-time thing between them… and added Cass, Blake, and Fisto because why the fuck not? Ch11: Thank you. The Think Tank scene took about three hours of pausing and playing a video of the conversation in game (it is half an hour in the actual game), so it's good to know my effort paid off. As for the Mysterious Stranger stuff, I have always admired them as a character, so I wanted to throw a bit of a curveball in and have a bit of fun. Ch12: First off, WATCH THE REST OF NUKA BREAK! It is completely amazing, and season three comes out later this year. Anyways, I was not a big fan of Honest Hearts, but only because (in my opinion) Old World Blues and Lonesome Road blew it out of the freaking water. Ch13: up, the MFC grenade is my second favorite explosive in New Vegas, only behind the Fat Mine because admit it; who doesn't love a nuclear landmine? As for Goris, I added him because he was my absolute favorite character in FO2, and I could tell he would fit in with New Vegas well. Feel free to speculate on the Stranger all you want; I am not saying anything. Ch14: Yeah, Honest Hearts did have some of the coolest weapons of New Vegas. Anyways, thanks again for all of the reviews, and thanks for reading! Have an amazing day!_

 _B.J. Blazkowicz_ _: Sadly, one of my great aunts passed away. She and I never really talked, but the chaos generated by the death prevented me from getting any writing time to myself. Thank you for expressing concern, and don't worry about me; I am already home again in Denver, and I have a regular writing schedule in place. Thanks again, and have a great day!_

 _Guest: While this is a great idea, I already have something planned for team RWBY's Faunis. Don't worry; the Shiskebab will get some love later._

 _Mandalore the Freedom_ _: Sadly, I am sticking with the canon explanation of Goris being the last living Intelligent Deathclaw. This is intended to help develop his Character farther with the 'last of his kind' causing a mix of emotions for him. As for the scientist thing, I am sorry, but I have not gotten the chance to play Mass Effect yet, so the reference went a mile over my head. Thanks again, and have a sensational day._

 _Captaindickscratcher_ _: I am sorry, but Ruby wielding a K-9000 is too much for the wasteland. As for the scientists, I am sorry for not clarifying, but I intended for it to be that Klein wiped their minds from existence, killing them. As for Klein himself, he is locked somewhere in the Think Tank. As for the weapons, they are not being use right now, but don't worry; this won't be the last we see of the BigMT. Thanks for another review, and have a truly epic day._

 _Allard-Liao_ _: Hey, during my actual battle with the X-42, I panicked and charged the thing with a shotgun… needless to say, it ended VERY badly. I'm glad you liked Weiss' handling of the situation, I had fun coming up with it. Thanks for the idea for Zion; I will see if I can use it. Anyway, have a good day sir._

 _Shaneman17_ _: Yeah, I realize I did get a bit dark at the end. Long story short, I thought a mix of losing her home, stress from wasteland life, and normal anxiety combined with chems would lead Weiss to some… dark places. As for the WhiteRose, I'm glad it works. I was hesitant, but I knew if I didn't seal the deal early people would start demanding either WhiteRose, Ladybug (RubyxBlake), or (and I actually got a PM about this one) RubyxBoone. Anyway, thanks for the feedback, and have a great existence!_

 _D3us_ _: I am sorry to say, but I am not familiar with AlChestBreach. If I get the chance, I will make sure to look him up. Anyway, have a good day._

 _Cole Tyger: Yeah, as I said above, the K-9000 is a bit OP for Ruby to be running around with, and it breaks her normal sniper/melee combo. Don't worry; I have a few new toys planned for Ruby's arsenal *Evil Laugh*. As for your comment on the Zion idea, you do know Goris is canon in the fallout universe (fallout 2), right? Hell, I didn't realize he was in Nuka Break until I re-watched it a couple of days after I posted the first chapter with him in it. Anyway, I probably won't add the Storyteller (or any other fan content) directly; this is because I don't want to risk getting in trouble for doing non-core fallout/RWBY content. I will continue to make Easter eggs connected to fan content, just not any direct interactions. As for the cut content… you have given me a terrible yet amazing idea. Thanks again for all of the amazing feedback, and have an absolutely epic day!_

 _Dragonsoul1_ _: Don't worry, the next chapter has a MAJOR upgrade for Blake's arsenal. Thanks for all the support!_

 _Elite Slayer 242_ _: Thank you. When it comes to weaponry ideas, I am a bit of a mad scientist… long story short, Social reject + creative mind + too much Anime/ Video game time = Very, VERY crazy weaponry designs (trust me, you should see my sketchbook). Glad you like the story so far, and have a nice day._

 _Well ladies and germs, that's all for now. The next chapter should be posted on Next Monday (July 18), I just wanted to post this one early. I have it mostly planned out thanks to reader input, but any more ideas for the Zion conclusion are greatly appreciated. Thanks again, every single one of you, and just remember kiddies: Don't feed the Yao-Guai!_

 _-_ _DovahCourier_


	17. Chapter 17 - Preperation for War

_AN_ _: Hello Readers, DovahCourier here! Sorry again for the chapter delay in this chapter, please don't hate me (I needed one more day to edit on Monday, and the library was closed yesterday). Anyway; let's get on with it, shall we?_

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 _I do not own RWBY or Fallout: New Vegas. Those belong to Rooster Teeth, Bethesda, and Obsidian._

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The Tale of Dust and Sand

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Seventeen: Preparation for War

Yang let out a relieved sigh as she snapped the final piece into place. _'Alright… Three hours of work done. Now, let's see if it all wor-'_

"Yang… what are you doing up so early?" Yang jumped at the voice coming from behind her. She quickly turned around, blocking her work from view. She looked up to see Blake, standing at the mouth of the cavern Yang had been working in. In each hand was a mug labeled 'Two Bears High-Fiving Campground; Zion, Utah', each one filled to the brim with steaming coffee.

Yang stuttered, blushing slightly. "Well… I was going to wait until morning to show you..."

Blake stepped forward, chuckling. "It's already six, hothead." She reached Yang, locking eyes with the slightly taller blonde. She handed a mug to Yang, who quickly took a sip of the drink. "Now, let's see what you're hiding..." With that, Blake lightly nudged Yang out of the way, gasping at the sight of what her partner had been working on.

Behind Yang was an armor rack, holding Blake's new combat armor. Instead of the relatively light tan they had previously been, the pants and duster were now jet black. A few more straps had been added to the legs, along with a knife holster (complete with combat knives) on the inside of each boot. The combat armor was recolored to a dark grey, with the tougher plates toned black. Mounted under the left arm was a large knife holster, this one curved slightly forward _._ Two bandoliers were strapped across the chest, one holding a few spare clips of pistol ammo, the other one a set of throwing knives.

Each of the gloves was dyed jet black, with light steel reinforcements along the fingers. The knuckles had heavy steel studs, obviously meant for any hand-to-hand combat. The duster's shoulders and elbows had been padded with sturdy black leather, with each of the pads lined with studs and bolts. The back of the coat had an intricate design of a yellow flame wrapped around a purple and black flower, the flames shielding the delicate violet petals.

The helmet had been painted jet black, and the green visor lights had been replaced with yellow ones. Painted on the side of the gas mask was a small yellow heart, with an even smaller purple heart inside of it. Yang stepped next to the armor, reaching up towards the helmet. "I know you don't like anything restricting your ears, and you already kinda have night vision, so..." She clicked a small latch, removing the upper helmet and goggles, leaving the gas mask on the armor rack.

Yang flipped the helmet upside down and tossed it to Blake. Blake looked inside, noticing a few small items inside of the headgear. There was a pair of aviator sunglasses identical to Yang's, a deep purple silk scarf, and a small gold chain. She pulled the chain, revealing the end to contain a small heart-shaped locket. She popped the locket open, revealing it to contain an inch-long bundle of Yang's hair. Blake smiled and brought the locket up to her nose, breathing in the combination of honey and lemon.

Blake looked up at Yang, a small tear of joy making its way down her cheek. She pounced forward, tackling Yang into a hug. Yang laughed, whispering softly into Blake's ear with a singsong voice. "That isn't all..."

Blake pulled away, grinning bashfully. "Yang, you don't have to..."

Yang covered Blake's mouth with one hand, reaching the other behind her. "Trust me; it's the finishing touch." With this, she pulled her hand out from behind her back.

In Yang's hand was a large kukri, at least a foot and a half long from handle to tip. The grip was a dark wood, with a few black leather straps reinforcing it near the ends. The pommel was a smooth amber rock, held in place by polished steel brackets. Yang handed Blake the blade, a broad smile on her face. Blake weighed the weapon in her hand, feeling the blade and pommel balance each other out perfectly.

Blake stepped past Yang, sliding the weapon into place in its sheath on the armor. She turned, looking at her partner. Yang only threw up a cocky grin, obviously pleased by Blake's reaction. "So… you like?"

Blake was speechless. She stuttered for a moment, tears of joy welling up in her eyes. "It's amazing! How did you..."

"The dyes and leather were taken from the cave where the Sorrows treat hunted hides and furs, the shades and scarf are my spares, and the locket is a little something I have been saving for you for a while now. I bought that oversized letter opener back in Vegas when I was looking for that… escort the _Wrangler_ requested, and I was just waiting for the right moment." Yang blushed, rocking on the balls of her feet awkwardly.

Blake stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Yang's shoulders and neck. "Yang… I don't even know how I could repay-"

Yang planted a quick kiss on Blake's lips, catching the girl by surprise. She pulled away, throwing in a sly wink for good measure. "Consider your debt paid in full. Now, let's get going Kitty-cat." With that, the blonde brawler grabbed Blake by the arm, pulling her towards the sunlight coming from the mouth of the cavern.

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The duo reached the campfire at the mouth of the Sorrow's canyon just as the sun made itself visible over the lip of the canyon. Blake had donned her new armor, opting to wear her new aviators and scarf while keeping her entire helmet apparatus clipped to her hip. Yang had ditched her heavy metal armor, instead wearing Blake's old leather armor. She had removed the shoulders and minimized the leg padding, leaving her chest, forearms and shins covered. On top of this she wore the bomber jacket she had been wearing the day they arrived in the Mojave, sleeves pinned up just above the elbow, along with her yellow scarf and aviators.

Cass, Joshua, Daniel and Walking Cloud were already at the campfire, huddled close and talking in whispered tones. Cass looked up for a moment, catching a glimpse of the newcomers. She eyed the pair up and down, letting out a wolf whistle. "Well, what do we have here? The lovers finally awake… and with some sweet new gear too!"

Yang let out a chuckle. She was about to say something, but stopped when a wonderful scent hit her nose. She breathed in, the amazing smell so familiar, yet oddly new. She looked over Cass's shoulder to the campfire, where she saw a large pan of meat frying over the flames.

Cass followed the stunned brawler's gaze, noticing what she was entranced by. "Want some, blondie?"

Yang nodded. She and Blake sat down on a log, and were both given a pre-war plate with a cut of the meat on it. Yang bit in, and almost started crying. It was a perfect cut of steak, not too lean and not too fatty. Blake raised an eyebrow at the meal for a moment. "What exactly is this?"

Daniel spoke up, a smug grin on his face. "Oh, it's nothing; just a bit of Yao-Guai."

Blake slid the plate in front of Yang, who had already finished her cut. The brawler grabbed it without a second thought, shredding the cut of meat within seconds.

Daniel cleared his throat, gaining everybody's attention. "Alright; here is the current situation. The White Legs are trying to earn Caesar's favor, and that involves the eradication of all other tribes in Zion. While Joshua prefers risking his tribe's destruction through the warpath…" He looked at the man in question, expression of anger on his face. "…I would prefer to take the peaceful path and evacuate the Sorrows from Zion. To do that, there are a few things that need to be taken care of." With this, the man pulled out a large map of the canyon with notes marked around four specific sections of the map.

"First, we are going to need some old world maps to help lead us to safety. Those should be found around here…" He pointed to a marked location near one of Zion's higher peaks.

Joshua looked up from the pistol he was cleaning. "I can handle those… there are a few of those damn spore plants in the area if I remember correctly." He quickly finished reassembling his pistol and made a run for the exit to the Sorrows camp.

"Along with that, there is a large cavern full of Yao-Guai that is a little too close to our evacuation route for comfort…"

Yang shot up, fists already raised. "Just point me at 'em."

Daniel pointed to a marked cavern on the map, before reaching into his satchel and handing yang a bundle of explosives and a detonator. "These should be enough to seal off the cave." Yang ripped the pyrotechnics out of the man's hand, giggling like a schoolgirl. She leaned over, kissing Blake on the forehead, before grabbing Cass by the collar and following Joshua's path to the camp exit.

Daniel shrugged off the blonde's enthusiasm, turning to face Blake and Cloud. "Alright, there are two more things we need to handle: First, there have been reports of a large White Legs camp to the southeast, which can only mean they are preparing for war. Along with this, White Leg sappers have been spotted setting traps on a bridge we are going to need to cross in order to evacuate." The man pointed at the two remaining markers on the map.

Blake and Cloud nodded in unison. Blake spoke up. "Alright, we can handle this easily." She and Cloud stood up, thanked Daniel once again, and turned to leave the canyon.

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Blake looked down at the bridge through her binoculars. She counted at least a dozen White Legs warriors laying bear traps on the bridge, oblivious of their observers on the ridge above. She lowered the binoculars, turning to face Cloud. "What's the plan?"

Cloud looked over the bridge once again before speaking up. "Alright; either we wait for them to leave and manually disarm the traps, or we kill them ourselves."

Blake observed the area, weighing her options, before sudden movement caught her attention on the other side of the bridge. She looked through her binoculars again, getting a better view of what was happening. At the other side of the bridge stood a pair of men clad in heavier furs than the rest if the White Legs. The men were standing on either side of a large cage, inside of which was one of the largest insects Blake had ever seen.

It was a kind of wasp; the three definitive body sections and membranous wings gave that away. The creature's exoskeleton was a dark charcoal grey, with deep red-orange eyes and wings. The creature darted from side to side, rattling the cage violently. It would seem like any other normal insect to Blake… if it hadn't been about the size of Ruby.

Blake watched as the sappers finished setting the traps and quickly cleared the bridge, assembling behind the two larger tribals. One of the tribals with the cage stepped forward, throwing a large slab of meat onto the bridge. He then backed up and signaled his partner. The partner opened the cage door, jumping back as he did so. The insect immediately leapt forward, landing on top of the meat. As the creature began to tear into its meal, the White Legs warriors backed away slowly, before turning heal and running away quickly.

Blake looked up, turning to face Cloud. Cloud's face was pale, and her eyes were wide with fear. "What is it?"

Cloud only uttered a single word before drawing her Yao-Guai gauntlet. "Cazador…" With that, she leapt over the duo's cover, sliding down the cliff.

Blake followed, sliding down the cliff face on her heels. A few feet from the ground she jumped, her feline reflexes helping her time a combat roll. She landed right next to Cloud, a few feet away from the bridge. Cloud tapped Blake on the shoulder. "Warrior, what is the plan?"

Blake considered her options for a moment, before speaking up. "Can you disarm the bear traps?"

Cloud laughed. "Childs play. What are you going to do?"

Blake drew her pistol, loading a clip of armor piercing rounds and cocking back the slide. "Squashing a bug."

Before Cloud even had time to question Blake, she had darted out from cover towards the bridge. She lined up a shot on the cazador, pulling the trigger. While the suppressor muffled most of the sound, the .45 round still gained the creature's attention. The round skimmed its side, taking one of the creature's six legs with it. Blake slid under the hovering insect, cracking off shots as she went. Each round impacted the exoskeleton and barely left a dent, only irritating the startled creature more. Blake ejected the empty mag, loading a clip of hollow-point rounds in its place. She tossed the weapon to her left hand, drawing her kukri with her right.

The creature dodged from side to side with insane speed as it slowly advanced on Blake's position, making any chance of lining up a shot about as easy as giving Yang a haircut. Blake emptied the mag in the irradiated creature's general direction, managing to tear a couple of holes in one of its secondary wings. The bug was too close to allow time for a reload, so Blake quickly slid her pistol into her hip holster before bringing up her kukri, holding it in a defensive position.

The cazador had quickly maneuvered around Blake, and slowly began to force her towards the edge of the ancient wooden bridge. As she crossed the bridge's median, Blake looked over her shoulder for a moment, damning her luck when she saw the creature was slowly forcing her closer to a bear trap. Blake considered her options for a moment, before having a sudden idea. She stomped down hard on the plank of old wood that the trap sat on, ducking as she went. The centuries old piece of lumber gave out, swinging upwards…

…and sending the bear trap over Blake to clamp down on the cazador's head, popping it clean off and leaving the beast's body twitching on the bridge deck.

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Blake and Cloud climbed over a ridge on their bellies, looking down into a small valley. They could see dozens of White Legs warriors walking around a large camp, setting up fires to compensate for the nearly-gone sunlight. Cloud tapped Blake on the shoulder, pointing at something. Blake followed the woman's arm, locking onto what looked to be a totem of sorts. "War totems; destroy them, destroy White Legs spirit."

Blake nodded, drawing her pistol. "Alright, let's go…" Before she could jump out from cover, Blake was stopped by Cloud placing a hand on Blake's shoulder. Blake turned to see her holding out a small vial decorated with feathers. Inside of the vial was a glowing amber powder. "What is this?"

"Weapon binding ritual. Tradition to proceed battle; watch." Before Blake could continue, Cloud drew her gauntlet and slowly scraped one of the claws sideways on the inside of her left arm, leaving a shallow cut. She dabbed each of the claw's fingers in the wound, leaving a small amount of blood on the tip of each claw. She proceeded to take a spare vial out of a pouch at her side, pouring the contents into the wound. She patted the powder into the wound, and Blake watched as the woman's eyes grew wider. "Bind spirit and weapon; let the war begin!"

Blake shrugged, deciding to go along with the 'tradition' instead of risking offending her guide. She drew her kukri and rolled up one of her gloves, exposing a small section of skin. She swiftly drew the blade across the skin, wincing slightly at the pain. She proceeded to pour the vial's contents onto the wound, dabbing the material into it. _'Hey, this isn't too baAAAAAAAAGH!'_ Blake' train of thought was cut off as she felt a wave of fire crawl over her skin. She screamed, the pain slowly escalating from the equivalent of a stubbed toe to the point that she could barely see straight. She let out an animalistic growl, before her world suddenly cut to black.

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Yang and Cass walked along the riverside, taking the long route back to the Sorrows camp. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN THEY'RE UNEVEN?!"

Yang raised her hands to the sky sarcastically. "Hey, if you didn't want to lose half of an eyebrow you shouldn't have stood so close to the cave when I blew it!"

"You were supposed to count to ten!"

"I did!"

"No, you counted to two and then hit the detonator halfway through three!"

"I got bored, alright!" Yang put a few commands into her Pip, materializing a large bottle of pre-war whisky. "Here, this should make up for it."

Cass grabbed the bottle, popping the cork out and taking a swig. She held the bottle out to Yang, shaking it slightly. The blonde grabbed the bottle, taking a small sip before passing it back to Cass, who chugged a third of the bottle's amber contents. Yang was about to comment on Cass's combat skills against the Yao-Guai, but stopped when she heard something. She turned around, only to see Walking Cloud running towards the duo.

Yang caught Cloud, who immediately fell against the blonde, exhausted. "Cloud, what is it?"

"White Legs camp… Demon…" The woman passed out. Yang walked Cloud over to Cass, who grabbed her arm and pulled it over her shoulder. Yang looked towards where Cloud had been running from, and saw a few plumes of smoke climbing from behind a ridge about half a mile to the south. Without a word to Cass, Yang darted towards the smoke, following the distant sounds of battle.

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Yang made it to the top of the ridge. Around her, White Legs warriors were running away, ignoring the blonde completely. Yang ran against the current of fleeing tribals, heading down the ridge into what she assumed were the remains of a camp. Tents were torn apart, the last embers of a few fires burned away slowly, and totems lie destroyed on the ground. In the center of the chaos, a trio of White Legs circled a figure, obstructing Yang's view.

Suddenly, whatever the warriors were fighting struck. The figure grabbed a woman's spear, pulling the tribal towards them. With a sickening crunch, a knife pierced through the back of the tribal's skull. The figure yanked the knife out of the tribal's face, hurling it full force and embedding it in the skull of a man trying to flank her. The figure than grabbed the first victim's spear, lunging forward and catching the last warrior square in his heart. The figure then walked towards the second warrior, ripping the blade out of his face and wiping it off on their sleeve.

Yang raised her fists, She's Embrace on her right arm, spiked knuckles on her left, and stepped forward. She broke into a run, trying to take advantage of the unknown adversary facing away from her, but skidded to a stop when she saw the image on the figure's back…

…An intricate design of a yellow flame surrounding a purple flower.

Blake spun around, and Yang immediately recoiled at the sight. Blake's bow was gone, and her feline ears were up and alert. Her gauntlets were a deep crimson, coated in blood. There were speckles of red on her chestplate and face, along with the heels of her combat boots. Her eyes were wide, an amber fire burning from within the orbs almost overwhelming the animalistic slits that her pupils had become. Her fangs were slightly longer than normal, but Yang was slightly relieved to see that they were still white and free of blood.

"Blake; are you alright?"

All that Yang got in response was a snarl as Blake barred her teeth and drew her large kukri from under her arm. She crouched down, knife at the ready, before leaping at Yang. Yang rolled into the attack, deflecting the knife strike with her gauntlet. She used her momentum to push forward, grabbing Blake's wrists with her free hand and pinning her to the ground. "Blake; get a hold of yourself!"

Blake growled, kneeing Yang in the gut. Yang recoiled, and Blake took the moment to strike out with her knife. Yang felt a searing pain as the blade sliced about an inch above her left elbow, catching the small gap between her Pip-boy and her jacket sleeve. Blake followed through with another slash, this one missing Yang's nose by mere inches. On the next slash, yang grabbed Blake by the wrist, twisting the weapon out of her hand. "Babe, I don't know what's wrong, but you need to CALM DOWN!"

With these last words, Yang flipped Blake backwards over her head, slamming her onto the ground with a thud. Yang turned around to face Blake, but she was already on her feet again. She leapt at Yang, pulling her spare combat knife out of her boot as she went. Yang tried to block the blow, but it connected. The blonde brawler stumbled backwards, screaming from the pain as the serrated blade embedded itself in her left side between two of her ribs.

Blake took her chance, drawing a throwing dagger and hurling it with full force. Yang fell onto her back as the weapon embedded itself in her right shoulder, sending another jolt of pain through the brawler. Blake recovered her kukri from the ground, rolling towards Yang in the process. She leapt, straddling the now pinned girl.

Yang's eyes grew wide with fear as she watched her own partner raise the long, curved knife above her head, preparing to stab downwards. All signs of the Blake she knew were gone, replaced with this savage beast. She closed her eyes, prepared for the worst. One second passed… than two… than three…

Yang opened her eyes. Blake was still straddling her, and she still held the kukri high above her head, but she no longer had an expression of bloodlust. Her eyes had gone back to normal, and were wide with fear as tears began to swell.

Yang sat up, reaching up with her left arm to take the knife away from Blake. She then pulled the girl in close, whispering slowly into her ear. "Shh… it's alright, just let it out."

With this, Blake lost it; she buried her face into Yang's shoulder and started crying heavily, nearly screaming every apology she could think of between sobs. Yang gently pet Blake between the ears while rocking back and forth slowly, ignoring the pain shooting through her body in favor of comforting her distressed lover.

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 _AN_ _: Well kids, the moral of the story is: Don't give 'all natural' medicine to a Faunus, unless you are in the mood to run like hell. Sorry for the chapter being short, I didn't want to get too deep into the Zion finale, as I am planning something special for that. Did I do this section well, or did I absolutely fuck up everything and you all hate me now. Feel free to express any thoughts on the chapter with a Review or a PM if you feel inclined to do so. Now, time for review responses:_

 _Cole Tyger_ _: Yeah, I am nerdy to the point that I might as well be a walking wiki for anything Fallout (Or Elder Scrolls, but that is a story for another day). For example, this 'Elizabeth' that Goris is referencing is the Chosen One, AKA the player character in Fo2, and the 'Vault Dweller' is the Chosen One's grandfather, or the player character in Fo1. Sorry if I sounded rude when I told you Goris was not just a Nuka Break character, I was not trying to be. Anyway, thank you again for all of the helpful input, and have an amazing day._

 _Allard-Liao_ _: Yup, bringing back the would-be warden of the Sierra Madre was a tactical choice, and I intend to show exactly why I brought her back as soon as I wrap up the Zion arc. As for the weapon thing, I am still thinking about hoe to have that situation pan out. Thanks for another review, and have a good day._

 _Elite Slayer 242_ _: Thanks for the compliment. I actually didn't initially plan on having the Ruby v Legion scene, but decided it was about time for her to see the true nature of Caesar's army, and react as any good huntress would; kick ass and take names. As for favorite DM characters, Christine was the only one I didn't think would immediately stab me in the back at the first chance they got, and this is only because I 'let Dog out of the cage' without realizing it and didn't get much dialogue with the relatively sane half of Dog/God. As I told Allard-Liao, I still have something in the planning stages for Christine interacting W/ Ruby involving the greatly upgraded rifle. Thanks again, and have an amazing day!_

 _D3us_ _: Well, he sounds like a… interesting personality, to say the least. I will look into him if I get the time. Anyway, have a nice day._

 _Dragonsoul1_ _: Yup, the third best marksman in the Fallout universe (Boone and MacCready take my number 2 and 1) has arrived in the Mojave. This should end well…_

 _Well folks, there is one last thing I need to bring up: After the Zion conclusion and one or two chapters of R &R (screwing around in Vegas + a 'little bit' of fan service to bring us down from the seriousness of the DLCs), I am a little lost on where I want this tale to go, at least for a little while. I am definitely sending everybody up to Jacobstown relatively quickly (So everyone excited about Goris and Marcus be ready for that), and I am saving the BoS and the Khans for after I have the events of Fortification Hill/ getting the Platinum Chip back. Besides that it's every New Vegas player's struggle: WHAT FACTION DO I VISIT FIRST?! Please, throw a few ideas out in the reviews because, besides the things mentioned above, I am very open to suggestions for what factions to handle, and who to send to see them. I am keeping the story on the balance between House, NCR, and Independent Vegas for the moment, so please don't suggest anything extremely faction-relationship changing like killing House or joining the Legion (Well, the mental image of Yang and Blake dressed as legionnaires… *Punches self in face* NO, BAD BRAIN; STOP BEING HORNY!). Along with this, I am __not_ _planning on sending anyone in team RWBY on Lonesome Road, because the story of that DLC is realty meant to be the Courier's personal road to journey down (insert cliché Green Day song here). Besides those restrictions, please PM me or drop a Review with any ideas for what to have everyone doing between now and whenever I decide it's time for the 'Mighty Bull of the East' to get it's ass kicked by three snipers, two brawlers, a cowgirl, a Faunus, an heiress, a cyberdog, a talking deathclaw, an Eyebot, and the wasteland's most badass mailwoman (plus whoever the hell we pick up along the way)._

 _Anyway, that's all for this week's chapter. The Zion Finale may take a little longer than normal to write, but this is just so I can make sure it's very well-tuned. Thank you all again; this story wouldn't exist if it wasn't for you guys, gals, and everybody in-between. Until next time, this has been DovahCourier! Just remember kiddies; don't feed the Yao-Guai!_


	18. Chapter 18 - The Evacuation of Zion

_AN:_ _Hello Readers, DovahCourier here! Alright, first things first: Sorry for anything weird happening if you tried to check the chapter the second it uploaded (long story short, FF bugged up and I had to reupload the chapter). Due to some personal scheduling issues, Wednesday is now when I will post weekly chapters most of the time. Now, I have nothing else to say besides that, so here it is; the final DLC chapter (for now)._

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 _Last time I checked I am not sleeping on a mattress filled with thousand-dollar bills, which means I sadly do not own RWBY or Fallout: New Vegas. Those belong to Rooster Teeth, Bethesda, and Obsidian._

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The Tale of Dust and Sand

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Eighteen: The Evacuation of Zion

Blake was freefalling. She looked around, observing her surroundings. Above her was the sky, filled with white clouds. Behind her was the face of a large cliff, which was quickly growing farther and farther above her as she descended. She flipped around, surprised to see what was on the ground below.

Trees: thousands upon thousands of lush, green trees spreading as far as the eye could see. Blake reflexively reached for her hip, surprised to find _Gambol Shroud_ sitting there, strapped to her side. She drew the weapon, the familiar feel of her personal weapon a source of relief. As she broke through the trees' canopy, she instinctively threw the weapon at a large branch. The blade locked into the wood with a satisfying thud as Blake's momentum pulled her around the branch to land safely on top.

Blake dug her blade into the trunk of the tree, sliding down to the forest floor. She briefly checked herself for any injury, shocked to find that her combat armor had been replaced with one of her older outfits: a white blouse with a black corset, white shorts, purple and black leggings, and a black scarf around her neck. Dismissing the change in wardrobe, Blake began walking away from the cliff. She didn't know why, it just felt like the right thing to do.

After about twenty minutes of walking, Blake heard a noise from through a nearby bush. She quickly ran over to investigate, _Gambol Shroud_ drawn and loaded in pistol form. She peeked through the bushes, seeing a pair of dead Ursa on the far side of a clearing. Closer to her position, Blake recognized Yang's back, noticing the blonde was also dressed in an older outfit. Blake was about to call out to Yang, but her view was suddenly obscured by a third massive Ursa. Blake acted on instinct; she leveled her pistol and fired a tight cluster of three rounds into the beast, causing it to fall forward with a satisfying thud.

Blake darted out from her cover, running forward to check on Yang. The brawler began to turn around, but suddenly stopped. Confused, Blake took another step forward…

…as Yang fell onto her back, blood gushing from the cluster of three bullet holes in her chest.

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Blake shot up from her sleep, screaming. She looked around, realizing she was still in her bedroll, near the Sorrows camp bonfire. She looked down, relieved to find herself back in her cargo pants and tank top. She looked at the surrounding bedrolls, noticing Joshua and Daniel were already gone. She was about to pull herself up from the sleeping spot, but was interrupted by an arm landing on her shoulder. She turned her head, only to find herself face to face with Cass.

Blake could see genuine worry in Cass's expression. "Hey, are you alright? That was one hell of a scream."

Blake shook her head, lightly lifting the cowgirl's hand off of her shoulder. "It's alright; it was just a bad dream."

Cass sat down cross-legged at the foot of the bedroll, near empty bottle of whisky in her hand. "Go ahead; I got time."

Blake went through the dream, choking up at the end. Cass just patted the girl on the back, cutting her off. "Shh… it's alright. Here…" She handed Blake the bottle, which only held about a shot's worth of liquor. "…a little liquid sorrow always helps."

Blake shrugged, tilting the bottle's contents into her mouth. The liquor burned on its way down, sending a feeling of heat up her throat and into her sinuses. She sputtered, spitting out half of the liquor onto the nearby dirt. Cass rolled backwards, laughing her ass off. Blake only stared upwards, gazing into the early morning sky and thinking about the previous day's events.

Soon after Blake had suddenly dropped out of her enraged rampage, Yang had passed out from blood loss. Blake, who had run out of stimpacks earlier in the trip, had been forced to field dress the girl's wounds; she had heated the dull side of her kukri in the remains of a campfire and used it to cauterize the massive puncture in Yang's side, but could tell one of the girl's lungs had collapsed. Blake had torn a section off of her new scarf, wrapping the material around the wound in Yang's shoulder. From there, she threw Yang's good arm over her shoulder and began walking, reaching the sorrows camp three hours later.

Blake was snapped back into reality by Cass, who had sat back down next to Blake. "Daniel has done everything he can; he said you can come see her now."

Blake nodded, standing up slowly. She followed Cass through the Sorrows camp, stopping in front of White Bird's cave. In front of the cave stood Joshua, Daniel and Walking Cloud; Cloud leaning against the wall thinking, while Joshua and Daniel seemed to be deep in a whispered argument. Cloud immediately darted over to Blake, worried expression on her face. "Warrior… I am so sorry, I-"

Blake put a finger over Cloud's mouth, silencing her. "Don't worry about it; I should have had better judgement." With this, Blake walked past the others, into the cave.

Yang was sitting up in her cot reading a book, facing towards the cave door. She wore nothing but a yellow tube top and her black jeans, allowing Blake to see the damage she had caused. The wound on Yang's side had obviously been treated with at least a dozen stimpacks, but still left a massive scar. The shoulder and arm wounds were faded away almost completely, with small red lines marking where they had once been.

Yang looked up from her book for a moment, catching sight of Blake. The brawler threw her partner a warm smile and tried to stand up, but stopped when Blake had already closed the gap and fallen to her knees, embracing Yang tightly. Blake pulled away a moment later, locking eyes with Yang. "Yang… I am SO sorry about what…"

Yang covered Blake's mouth with her right pointer finger. "No, stop right there. It isn't your fault that that powder fucked with your head."

Blake gestured at the scar on Yang's side, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "Yang… I almost KILLED you. Do you have _any_ idea what would have happened if I hadn't come out of that haze in time?"

Yang just shrugged, throwing out a cocky grin. "Honestly, I don't care." She pulled herself towards Blake, who had begun to cry. "All I know is that you wouldn't have done it."

"What?"

"I know that, despite whatever the hell was going on in your head, you wouldn't have killed me."

Blake raised an eyebrow, not buying Yang's excuse for staying calm. "And what makes you so sure of that?"

Yang grabbed Blake by the strap of her tank top, pulling her into a passionate kiss. Yang held the kiss for a few moments, before pulling away and resting her chin on Blake's shoulder, whispering into her lover's ear. "Love."

A tear made its way down Blake's cheek as the Faunus huntress wrapped her arms around Yang's shoulders, hugging tightly. Yang wrestled out of the hug, dragging Blake with her as she stood up. She stretched; relieved to feel the cash in her side had knitted itself together without any complications. "Don't worry kitten, it's just a flesh wound."

Blake laughed at this, wrapping one arm around Yang as the duo walked out of the cavern together.

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Yang and Blake walked down the canyon towards the campfire, but stopped when they heard yelling coming from said fire. They rounded a corner, only to see Joshua and Daniel inches from each other, screaming at the top of their lungs.

"WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO RISK MY TRIBE'S ENTIRE EXISTANCE JUST TO FIT YOUR PERSONAL NEED FOR REVENGE?!"

"ONLY A COWARD FLEES FROM THEIR ENEMY DANIEL, YOU OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW THAT!"

"WELL IF COWARDICE MEANS ENSURING MY PEOPLE'S SURVIVAL, THAN SO BE IT!"

Yang darted towards the duo, wanting to prevent any physical violence. She positioned herself between the duo, placing a hand on each man's chest and forcing them apart. "Alright; what the fuck is going on here?"

Joshua spoke up first, anger breaking through his normally calm personality. "Dead Horse scouts have discovered that the White Legs are preparing to attack. My tribe would be able to handle them, but the situation is grave; Caesar has sent some of his lapdogs to determine if the White Legs are ready to serve the Bull."

"What difference will a few legionnaires make?"

"He sent an entire Centuria."

"Again, what difference does that make?"

Yang could see Joshua raise an eyebrow through the bandages. "You don't know what a Centuria is, do you?"

Yang smiled, speaking in a very confident tone. "No I do not."

Daniel cleared his throat, turning Yang's attention to him. "A Centuria consists of roughly 80 fighters, along with one of Caesar's personal centurions." ( _AN:_ _The Wiki gave very little info on the organization of Caesar's Legion on a larger scale, so I improvised by using the real Roman legion as an example.)_

Yang felt her confidence drain significantly at that statement. "Well… that complicates things a bit."

Joshua spoke up. "Exactly. The only way we would even have a chance at fighting them off would be if Daniel here allowed his men to fight."

Daniel spoke up, anger flashing into the man's voice. "And this would only put innocent lives in danger for no good reason! We must proceed with evacuating Zion, before it is too late."

The men began arguing again, their words blending into a cacophony of noise. Yang decided to improvise, moving to stand on top of a log. As she put one foot on top of the piece of wood, Blake stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "What exactly are you doing?"

"Either something brilliant, or something _really_ stupid." She stepped up onto the log, drawing _Big Boomer_ and firing it into the air. Everybody in the nearby area stopped what they were doing, turning to stare at the apparently crazy blonde. _'Well, too late to back out now…'_ She cleared her throat, yelling loud enough for everyone in the area to hear her. "Alright; this is how everything is going down. Apparently, Caesar has sent some of his bastards to help the White Legs, and the only way to keep Zion for the Dead Horses and the Sorrows is to waste blood fighting them off. On the other hand, if we just retreat there is nothing stopping them from following us and killing us on the run. I say we take the most logical path; we fight… to run away."

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Yang, Blake, Joshua, Daniel and Cass stood around a large map of Zion in a secluded cave. The map was marked with three colors; green scattered across the valley, red in the far southeast, and blue along the northern canyons. Joshua pointed to the large section of red. "Alright; the enemy has massed here at the southern passage, so any chance of getting out that way is impossible." He pointed to the far southwest, which was marked with a large red 'X'. "…so, the only way for the Sorrows to make it out of Zion is through the old highway tunnel here. The only problem with that is the fact that my tribe is already scattered…" He gestured to the splashes of green scattered along a blue line tracing from the 'X' to the blue blob in the north. "…busy keeping the White Legs off of the evacuation path. I have received word that Salt-Upon-Wounds himself has set up a camp at the tunnel itself…"

Yang raised a hand. "Salt-Upon-Who?"

Daniel spoke up. "Salt-Upon-Wounds; the White Legs' brutal war chief. He is the reason the White Legs are joining the Legion; he is the most brutal leader they have had in decades. He has nailed corpses of fallen tribes to the canyon walls, as a reminder to all that oppose to fear him."

Yang nodded, clenching her fists in anger at such a heinous act. Joshua continued speaking. "Alright, here is the plan; Yang and Cass will take the long way along the island, clearing out anyone or anything waiting to ambush us and helping any straggling Sorrows. Daniel will stay here and help prepare the evacuation." He nodded, cutting off his chain of orders.

Daniel immediately headed for the mouth of the cave, heading to help his tribe prepare. Yang grabbed Blake softly by the chin, pulling the armored girl towards her. Blake looked yang up and down, noticing the blonde had added a few of the plates from her metal armor to the leather gear she wore under her coat. Yang pulled Blake's gaze back upwards, lavender eyes locking with amber ones. "Stay safe out there, alright?"

Blake nodded, planting a fast kiss on Yang's lips before pulling away and reaching into one of her duster's pockets. "I was going to give this to you later, but…" She stopped talking, and just pulled the item out of her pocket and placed it in Yang's hand. Yang looked down, observing the gift; it was an intricate combat knife, with a serrated black blade and yellow leather wrapped around the grip. Yang stared at the weapon, confused for a moment before its importance clicked for her.

"Really? Of all the things you could give me…" Blake blew off the sarcastic remark, watching as Yang placed the knife that had nearly killed her the night before into a sheath on the back of her belt. Yang nodded, kissed Blake again on the cheek, and ran out of the cave, Cass in tow.

Blake turned to face Joshua, who was strapping a few spare clips of ammo onto his combat vest. "Alright Joshua, what's the plan?"

Joshua reached behind his back, pulling out a spare silenced .45 and tossing it to Blake. "Lock, load, and pray that God's hand will guide us."

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Yang and Cass sat on top of a ridge, looking down upon the small canyon that had acted as their gateway into Zion. They could see a large camp of red tents built around the entrance to the park, wilt banners of Caesar's Bull flying overhead. "Alright Blondie, what's the plan?"

Yang weighed their options for a moment. "I say we just leave them be for now; they will move on the evacuation trail soon, and it will be easier to fight them there."

Cass slung her shotgun back over her shoulder, obviously disappointed. "Fine, let's get moving to the tunnel than… wait, what is that?"

Yang followed the woman's gaze, and was shocked at what she saw. There was a small band of tribals, a mix of Dead Horses and Sorrows, being dragged by a set of legionnaires towards the camp. Yang followed their path, and let out a shocked breath when she saw what they were being dragged towards; a set of wooden crosses nailed into the ground.

"Alright, new plan; Kick ass, take names, and get them out of there." With that, Yang jumped over the ridge, going from rock to rock until she reached the bottom. She noticed the prisoner convoy was about twenty yards away from her; halfway between her and the fort. _'Alright, gotta act fast…'_ Yang darted forward, gauntlet on her right arm, shotgun in her left hand.

She reached the two legionnaires guarding the back of the convoy. Without a second thought, she dragged the claw on her right arm from the base of the neck to the tailbone of the man on the left, killing him instantly. As the man on the left turned to see what had happened to his partner, Yang pressed her shotgun between the man's eyes, sending a pair of 12-gauge slugs through his head.

The rest of the soldiers escorting the prisoners turned on their heels, locking eyes with Yang. She only input a quick command into her Pip-Boy, replacing her shotgun with a set of spiked knuckles. The two legionnaires closest to her charged. She caught one in the gut with a punch, throwing him into the man behind her. She swung her gauntleted arm, catching the second charger with a set of razor sharp claws across the throat. She prepared to lunge at the closer of the two remaining legionnaires, but stopped when a pair of loud _bangs_ from behind her accompanied the two soldiers collapsing dead. Yang turned around, only to see Cass loading two more slugs into her shotgun. "Alright, stop starin' and get freein'!"

Yang stepped over the bodies of the legion troops, ignoring the bile rising in her stomach as she drew her knife, cutting the ropes binding the tribals.

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Joshua and Blake made their way down the evacuation path. They had found almost zero resistance, only having to fight through a failed White Legs ambush, which had gone flawlessly. They reached the bridge Blake and Walking Cloud had cleared of traps the day before, but came to a stop at the edge of the ancient wooden structure.

In the center of the bridge stood three legionnaires. The two on the sides were wearing the standard modified sports gear, wielding nothing but machetes. The man in the center wore nothing but a stark white loincloth, spiked knee-high sandals, a set of bronze laurels, a pair of metal bracers, and a blood red cape that reached all the way to the ground. The man had a rough set of facial hair, not quite long enough to be a beard but definitely more than a goatee, along with a head of jet black hair. The man's exposed chest was covered in deep scars, both old and new.

The man stepped forward. "Weaklings! Come now; face the true POWER that is the great Centurion, Scipio Afri-"

Blake drew her dual .45s, sending a pair of hollow-point rounds through the man's chest.

The two remaining legionnaires turned to run, but were stopped by Joshua firing a pair of rounds from his personal .45 auto. He stepped forward, looking down at the Centurion clinging on the edge of life. "Ah, Scipio; great fighter in the arena, but a bit of a meathead on the battlefield…" He stomped onto the man's head, crushing his skull. "May God have mercy on your soul." With this, the man continued southward towards the evacuation tunnel, Blake in tow.

The duo made it to the end of the road, and was shocked at the sight before them. There was a line of Dead Horse warriors attempting to force their way through to the tunnel, being blocked by a mass of Legion and White Legs soldiers. For a moment, it looked like the Dead Horses were going to break through the line…

…Then Blake watched as a man broke past the Dead Horses line.

The man was massive, clad in a heavy leather harness with dark red warpaint running in lines along his exposed flesh. His helmet looked like at one time it had been built for a motorcycle, but had long since been outfitted with feathers, bones, and warpaint. The man swung at the nearest Dead Horses warrior, and Blake watched as his gauntlet impacted with the target's jaw. The Dead Horse warrior recoiled for a moment before grabbing his own face, screaming in agony as the flesh around the impact began to turn bright red.

Before anyone could take action, Joshua fired a few rounds into the air, gaining the attention of everyone nearby. The man locked eyes with Graham, letting out a roar of anger. "Joshua… The mighty Caesar has demanded your head for our tribe to join his ranks."

Joshua merely raised his pistol, aiming at the man. "Well then Salt; the mighty Caesar will be disappointed once again." With this, the two men charged at each other. All other fighting had stopped, as every eye in the area was locked on the duo. Joshua fired a few rounds into Salt-Upon-Wounds' chest, but the massive tribal shrugged them off without a second thought. The White Legs chief got within range and swung, missing Joshua by mere inches. Joshua flipped his pistol around, wielding the firearm like a club. The chiefs came within inches of each other, matching blow with blow, not letting a single strike through their defense while at the same time letting loose a barrage of attacks onto their opponent.

This battle continued for almost half an hour, but eventually a victor was revealed. Joshua dodged another one of Salt-Upon-Wounds' punches, taking the chance to get closer to his opponent. He brought the butt of his pistol down, sending a visible crack through the man's helmet. Before Salt could retaliate, Joshua kicked him square in the chest, sending him sprawling onto the ground.

Joshua walked over to the fallen man, placing one foot on his chest and leveling the barrel of his pistol with the man's head. "To put it in the tongue of Caesar himself; _te videre in inferno._ "

Blake stepped forward, placing a hand on Joshua's shoulder. "Stop."

Joshua looked at her, shocked. "What did you just say?"

"I said stop; hasn't he had enough?!"

"If I don't kill this man right here, the Legion will have one more tribe at their backs!"

"AND IF YOU DO KILL HIM, YOU ARE NO BETTER THAN CAESAR HIMSELF!" At this, Joshua hesitated, and Blake took her chance. "When I first told you who I was, you said we might as well be siblings. Well you were wrong. Yes, I've done horrible things. Yes, I have been doing my best to tear down the organization that betrayed me, but that is where we diverge; while I changed my ways, done my best to put my past behind me, YOU have done nothing but let your anger take control of you and define who you are. The Legion's Centurion is dead and the White Legs are routed; there is no point to killing this man! It is not our place to judge this man; leave that to Caesar when he learns of his failure."

Joshua hesitated for a moment…

…Before sliding his pistol into the holster on his hip, and stretching out an arm to pull Salt-Upon-Wounds off of the ground.

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Yang, Blake, Cass, Daniel and Joshua stood at the mouth of the evacuation tunnel. Daniel spoke first, nodding his head in the direction of the three visitors. "Well, it is time for us to get going. I cannot thank you enough for what you have done for our people." He stepped towards Yang and Cass, hand outstretched. "Thank you for freeing my people; if you hadn't, less than half of the tribe would've made it out."

Yang shrugged. "No biggie; just doing my job." She and Cass shook hands with the man.

Daniel stepped in front of Blake. "Warrior… there is no way I could possibly thank you for the things you have done while here in Zion…"

Blake put a hand up, silencing the man. "As Yang said, we are just doing our jobs. No thanks needed."

The man nodded, reaching into his pocket. "Here… this will blow the tunnel after I go through; not going to give Caesar the chance to follow us again."

Blake reached for the detonator in the man's hand, but Yang grabbed it before she could even lift her arm. Daniel sighed, shaking his head. "Ah, kids… Well, I am off. Are you coming Joshua?"

"Yes, Just a moment." Joshua gestured for Blake to come closer. She noticed he had changed into an outfit much closer to Daniel's; closer to a pastor than a warrior. "Miss Belladonna… I thank you once again for everything."

"Don't worry Joshua; there is no need to-"

He put a finger up to where his lips were under the bandages, silencing her. "I believe you deserve this, for your service to the Dead Horses, the Sorrows, and Zion canyon." With this, he handed Blake a large Pre-War box.

She opened it, smiling at its contents. Inside of the box sat Joshua's combat outfit, complete with bulletproof vest and spare hand-wrap tape. Along with this, there was a pair of war clubs, masterfully crafted from ironwood and reinforced with steel and leather. Each club was carved into a smooth head, with steel studs sticking out at regular intervals. On top of everything was Joshua's personal .45 auto pistol, complete with snakeskin grip and barrel engravings.

Blake looked up from the gift to thank Joshua, but she only watched as he and Daniel walked down the tunnel, chatting like old friends.

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 _AN:_ _Well, I believe that was a fitting conclusion to the Zion arc, wouldn't you say? Feel free to express any opinions in the reviews or with a PM; Any and all input is greatly, GREATLY appreciated. On that note,_ _I have decided to start responding to non-guest reviews via PM_ _; this allows for the reviewers (that's you sensational chaps) to either respond to my response (insert Inception noise here), or lets you clarify/build upon ideas mentioned in the review with me in a 1on1 conversation (it also keeps the AN of the chapter a reasonable length). All guest review responses will still be in the chapters because of obvious reasons._

 _Guest from Hell: First off; tell Satan, Hades, or whoever the fuck is in charge down there that I said hi. Now, as for the review, I do plan on having a couple members of team RWBY meet the Kings (and Rex) soon, so no need to worry about that. Thanks for the review!_

 _Anyway, there is one more thing I need to bring up: This story's cover image. To put it lightly, I am not an artist (hell, the current picture is from the Fallout Wiki). I was wondering if any of you would be willing to help throw together a cover picture for this story. I will say this here and now:_ _ **I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT REPAY WITH MONEY.**_ _I am sorry, but this is the only limitation. If you are at all interested, please PM me and we can discuss details such as how I can pay you back and what the cover design would be._

 _Anyway Readers, that is all for this week. I once again thank you all for being here and sticking with the story. Until next time, just remember kiddies; don't feed the Yao Guai!_

 _-_ _DovahCourier_


	19. Chapter 19 - Fucking Around Pt1

_AN_ _: Hello Readers, DovahCourier here! Sorry for not PMing to respond to reviews yet, I have had almost zero internet access on the laptop since I posted the last chapter, and have only been able to read reviews VIA my flip-phone, so this will be the final chapter that all responses are in the AN footer. First off, a few of the reviews made me realize I forgot to completely clarify something: THE DLC STORY ARCS HAPPENED AT THE SAME TIME. By this, I mean chapter 16 (Ruby attacking the Legion, Liz and V returning to the 38, etc…) happened AFTER the Zion arc concluded (so Yang, Blake and Cass had only been back in Vegas for about a day before Ruby and Weiss' return). I am sorry for the odd chapter order, and in retrospect should have posted ch16 after the Zion conclusion. Anyway, to eliminate any chance of confusion, this chapter takes place AFTER chapter 16, so everybody is back in the Lucky 38. Sorry for screwing up, and thanks for sticking with me. Anyway, after the relative seriousness of the DLCs, the title of this chapter says it all; so let's get going, shall we?_

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 _I sadly do not own RWBY or Fallout: New Vegas. If I did, I would be living like Robert House right now (just without the weird cryo-mummy situation). Everything belongs to Rooster Teeth, Bethesda, and Obsidian._

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The Tale of Dust and Sand

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Nineteen: Fucking Around Pt1.

Ruby awoke to the sound of a scream and the crash of broken ceramic. She immediately jumped out of bed, grabbed the nearest weapon, _Christine_ , and ran into the hall. She looked towards the kitchen, noticing the light in the room was on. She headed down the hallway, pistol at the ready. She reached the edge of the kitchen doorway, taking a moment to prepare before she leapt out of cover, quickly scanning the room.

Immediately, Ruby noticed Blake backed against the counter with a combat knife at the ready, shattered mug at her feet. Next, Ruby saw Goris on the opposite side of the kitchen; one hand up in a calming position, the other one wrapped around a mug of steaming coffee. _'Dust, Goris this is why I told you to-'_

Ruby's chain of thought was cut off by a scream from behind her. This one was not another scream of fear, but of anger. Ruby turned around just in time to see a yellow blur fly past her, landing between Goris and Blake. Ruby regained her balance, eyes coming into focus just in time to see Yang standing between Goris and Blake, fists raised for combat.

Ruby stepped forward, quickly placing a hand on Yang's shoulder. "Yang, Wai-"

Ruby was cut off again, this time by a loud hydraulic hiss. She turned to see Veronica, Power Fist at the ready, charge at Goris. Ruby acted on instinct, rolling between the two and drawing her rifle and holding it up in defense. Veronica's fist impacted with the rifle, and Ruby cringed as she heard at least half of the internal mechanisms shatter. "V! CALM DOWN, HE'S A FRIENDL-"

"WHAT THE FUCKING HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!"

Everybody in the room froze, their gazes slowly drifting over to the kitchen doorway. Standing there was Liz, her katana in one hand, revolver in the other. Ruby would have found her intimidating, if she had been wearing more than just a pair of boxers. The half-nude courier stepped forward, revealing the rest of the suite's residents to be standing behind her. She stepped towards Ruby, looking down to make eye contact with the girl that stood almost a foot shorter than her. "Explain."

Ruby stepped back, patting Goris on the shoulder as everybody slowly filed into the kitchen. "Well everybody, this is Goris. Goris, this is our little freak show of an alliance."

Everyone looked at the deathclaw for a moment, expressions of confusion and tiredness on their faces. Goris put the mug of coffee down, waving his now free hand in a sign of greeting. "Hello there."

The reactions were mixed; Liz, Boone, Blake, Yang, and the bald woman just stared in shock for a moment, as if they didn't believe their ears. Cass pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head, mumbling something about not drinking homebrewed moonshine before bed. Veronica jumped, both excited and curious. ED-E beeped nonchalantly, as if he had seen worse during his time in the wasteland. Weiss just placed her face in her palm, obviously embarrassed by the entire ordeal.

Ruby decided to try and break the ice. "Goris, this is Blake…"

"Um… hello?"

"Yang…"

"Sup."

"Veronica…"

"Hi there!"

"Boone…"

"Hello."

Ruby stopped for a moment on the bald woman. "I am so sorry, what is your name again?"

Veronica moved next to the woman in question, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and squeezing tightly. "This is Christine." Christine waved.

Ruby continued. "Alright then… ED-E…"

 _*Tired Beep*_

"You already know Weiss…"

"Good morning Goris."

"And, last but not least, Cass and Liz."

Goris looked at Cass for a moment before letting out a slight laugh. "Broad shoulders, blue eyes, relatively pale complexion, and I can smell the whisky from here… tell me, are you John's kid?"

Cass's eyes widened at Goris' comment, and she looked up at the creature in shock. "How did you…"

"When you walk along the west coast with somebody for the best couple years of your life, you tend to memorize a few of their traits." The deathclaw nodded. "He was a good man, and a great friend." Before Cass could respond, Goris turned to face Liz, and suddenly froze.

Ruby watched as Goris stared at Liz, head slightly tilted in confusion. After a few seconds, Goris' subject of study became self-conscious; crossing her arms to cover her modest bust. "Can I… help you?"

Goris stuttered for a moment before speaking up. "Sorry, you just look so much like someone I kno… someone I used to know…" The deathclaw's voice drifted away, lost in thought.

Ruby cleared her throat, gaining everybody's attention. "Well then; it's already…" She looked down at her Pip-Boy. "…seven a.m.… anyone got plans for the day?"

Liz walked towards the doorway. "First things first, I'm getting dressed."

As she walked out of the kitchen, Veronica spoke up, bubbly as ever. "Christine and I were going to go down to the mechanic shop below the garage, see if there is anything fun down there." The mute woman nodded in agreement, leaning against Veronica with a slightly tired expression on her face.

Boone stood up to leave with a slight grunt. "I'm going back to bed."

Yang and Blake looked at each other, nodding in sync. "Nap."

Weiss wiped her finger along one of the countertops, bringing it up covered in dust. "I'm going to get started cleaning this dump up."

Ruby looked for Cass and Goris, but saw they had already walked into the living room, deep in conversation about someone named 'John Cassidy'.

Ruby looked down at the battered rifle in her hands, slightly saddened by the sight. The receiver had been dented, and a few of the smaller components had fallen out completely. _'Crap… this will take a while to get working again…'_ "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm going shopping down at the Gun Runners."

"I'll drive you there." Ruby jumped at the voice from behind her. She spun around, looking for the source. Liz was leaning against the kitchen doorframe fully clothed in her leather armor and duster, juggling a knife between her hands. Ruby followed the weapon's arc as it left the woman's right hand, sored through the air, and landed in her…

"OH MY GOD WHAT HAPPENED?!" Ruby exclaimed when she saw Liz's left hand. The little finger was completely gone, and the ring finger had been cut off halfway between the first and second knuckles. Each of the fingers was tipped with a small metal cap, tightly fastened to each digit's tip.

Liz looked at the hand in question, a cocky smile forming on her face. "Oh, you mean this? Long story short, do NOT get into a fistfight if your opponent's weapon is a modified bear trap." She stepped forward towards the table. She reached behind her, pulling the massive duffle bag she had worn upon arrival off of her shoulder and unzipping it. "Now, if anyone else needs to go shopping for the next few, I don't know, decades…" She threw the bag onto the table with a heavy thud. "It's on me and V."

The entirety of team RWBY stared in awe as the bag spilled out onto the table, revealing at least three dozen bricks of solid gold.

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Yang walked into the bedroom she and Blake shared. It had been an hour since Ruby, Liz and ED-E had left to hit Gun Runners, and she and Blake had just finished eating a quick breakfast with Goris and Cass. She sat down on the edge of the bed, opening up her Pip-Boy and fiddling around with the settings. She was about to start 'unpacking' the device from her trip to Zion, but stopped when she heard the room's on-suite bathroom door creak open. She looked up, jaw dropping at the sight before her.

Standing in the bathroom doorway was Blake, wearing a dark red floor-length robe with the _Lucky 38_ logo on the breast. Blake stepped forward, a seductive sway in her hips, never breaking eye contact with the stunned brawler. "Yang… I have a question."

Yang let out an odd combination of a grunt and a squeal.

"How do I look?" With this, Blake dropped the robe…

…Revealing a set of pre-war police armor.

Unlike her riot gear, this outfit was much more subtle; it consisted of a black bulletproof vest, a white undershirt, and a pair of jeans. The vest was covered in straps and pockets, with the word 'SWAT' in white lettering on the front of both shoulders. There was a pair of holsters on her belt, each one containing a suppressed .45, along with a war club just behind each pistol. Yang noticed the pistol on Blake's primary side had a chrome finish, along with a snakeskin grip. The jeans were worn, but reinforced with sturdy leather padding at the knees and shins. Along with the main outfit, Blake had what appeared to be boxing tape wrapped around her arms from her hands to her sleeves.

Yang crossed her arms and glared at Blake, disappointed and slightly irritated. "That wasn't very nice."

"You didn't answer the question."

A cocky smile found its way onto Yang's face. "You look beautiful no matter what you are wearing… or not wearing, for that matter."

Blake leapt onto the bed, straddling Yang's midsection. "Well then, let's see how quickly you can get this off of me." Yang shot into action, immediately going for Blake's belt. She managed to undo the buckle, and slowly began pulling at the girl's jeans…

…When a sudden crackling noise came from the intercom in the corner of the room.

Yang got out of bed, mumbling incoherently to nobody in particular. She hit the talk button on the intercom with enough force to shake the wall slightly. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?!"

A slightly crackly voice came through the receiver, which Yang immediately recognized as Veronica's. _"Yes, I would like the large gecko filet with a side of…"_

"VERONICA!"

" _I'm kidding!"_ The woman on the other end of the line let out a small chuckle. _"Anyway, get your ass down to the workshop; I need to show you something!"_

Yang groaned, realizing her chances of getting lucky were getting slimmer and slimmer. "Is it better than getting laid? Because if not I swear I will tear your head off and shove it up your a-"

" _YES IT'S BETTER THAN THAT! JUST GET DOWN HERE!"_ With that, the intercom clicked off.

Yang looked over to the bed, but Blake was already up. The raven-haired girl was now directly behind Yang, quickly pushing her to the door into the hallway. Just before the duo reached the doorway, Blake stopped suddenly, leaning in and whispering into Yang's ear. "Later…" Blake pulled away slightly, giving the bottom of Yang's ear a slight teasing nibble, before pushing the girl out of the room and locking the door behind her.

Yang took the elevator down to the floor below the garage. She walked into the room, and the first thing she noticed was how dark the room was; the only sources of light were the elevator, and the slight glow from her Pip-Boy. She took a few steps forward and suddenly all of the lights snapped on, blinding her.

Yang slowly regained her vision, looking up to see a room the size of a warehouse. Along the far wall, she could see a car lift that went up to the garage, along with a work station filled with car and bike parts. Next to the auto section was a large wall of different workbenches, ranging from welding kits, to sewing machines, to a full chemistry set. Along the two walls to Yang's sides ran a set of bleachers, covered in literal centuries of dust and grime. In the center of the massive room stood Veronica and Christine, standing next to a large shape under a tarp…

…In the center of a massive boxing ring.

Yang walked towards the duo, climbing up the edge of the ring and leaping over the steel cables thicker than her arm that ran between the arena's corner pillars. "Alright, what is so important that it warranted a cockblock?"

Veronica was literally shaking with excitement. "Behold..." She darted to the side, pulling the tarp away from the massive shape in the middle of the arena.

 _Big._ That was the only word that Yang could conceive to even begin describing the sight before her. The tarp had been covering a pair of sets of armor. Each one stood at least seven feet tall, taller if compensating for the slight hunch they shared. They were both made of solid metal plates, with a slight layer of rust on the aged metal. The shoulder plates were massive, extending a full six inches away from the edge of the arm and topped with an open ring, which Yang assumed was for a crane hook. The helmet had a pair of tubes coming off of a large air filter taking up the lower half of the face.

"What the hell are these?"

Veronica stared at Yang for a moment, slightly offended. "What do you mean, 'What the hell are these?'? These, my buxom darling, are sets of T-45d mechanized combat suits… In other words, I just found us some fucking power armor!" She stood between the two towering sets of armor, reaching out and touching the back of each. The next thing Yang knew, the backs of the armor sets folded outward, opening up for a user to board. "Here, I'll show you the ropes…"

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

"…and THAT is why you never wear a cape while fighting a giant bird." Ruby walked out of the elevator, Liz and ED-E in tow. They walked into the kitchen, where Ruby immediately cleared her throat before yelling at the top of her lungs. "WE'RE BACK!"

Everybody but Goris and Boone, who were out on the balcony chatting, slowly made their way into the kitchen, forming a circle around the table. Ruby stepped forward, slinging the duffel bag on her back onto the table. "Alright, present time!" She dug into the bag, pulling out a long pump action shotgun. "First up; Cass, you are due for an upgrade…" Without waiting for a response, the young huntress threw the large weapon towards the caravan boss, who caught said weapon and began examining it.

"Next up… Blake, you seemed pretty well armed already, so…" Ruby pulled out a few boxes of ammunition, tossing them to Blake.

Ruby dug further, pulling out a large leaver action rifle and a pair of pistols. The pistols were revolvers, but the hammer was replaced with a motor that automated the firing process. Liz took the weapons without a word, placing them in various holsters on her armor. She reached under arm, pulling out _Lucky_ from its hidden spot."Hey Weiss; catch!" Weiss caught the revolver, quickly storing it inside of her Pip-Boy.

Ruby once again dove into the bag of goodies, pulling out her personal sniper rifle. "Sorry Weiss, but I don't really need this anymore, so I'm just going to store it in our room if that's alright w…" Before she could finish her sentence, Christine's arm darted across the table, tearing the rifle from Ruby's grip. She looked the weapon up and down, a nostalgic smile forming on her face. She got to the stock, and the smile turned to confusion. She pressed a button on the side of the stock, and her smile returned larger than ever as the blade of energy jumped to life along the rifle's stock. Ruby glared angrily at the mute woman. "Hey, give back _Chr_ \- oh, wait a second…" Ruby put two and two together, slapping herself in the forehead for not realizing it earlier. "Go ahead and have her back, I have my own new toy anyway…" With this, Ruby reached into the bag once more, pulling out her personal favorite new item.

In Ruby's hands was a massive bolt-action sniper rifle. It was almost as long as she was tall, longer if the stock was fully extended. The stock and foregrip were made of redwood, polished to a shine and reinforced with straps of leather. The receiver was massive, obviously made to take a very high-caliber bullet. All of the metal components were a dark grey, with the very end of the long barrel capped off with a muzzle break the size of Ruby's fist.

Yang let out a low whistle, before nudging Weiss in the side with her elbow. "Sorry Ice Queen, looks like you just got replaced." Weiss crossed her arms, letting out a disgruntled 'humph' when everyone within earshot laughed.

Ruby reached into the bottom of the bag, pulling out a final item. "Alright; the GRs were out of the normal one, so I had to get their custom model…" She placed the item on the table.

Yang's jaw dropped. It was a large gauntlet with a single massive shotgun barrel along the forearm section. There was a streamlined pressure plate running along the knuckle line, with wires leading to a custom box magazine feeding into the barrel. The name ' _Two-Step GoodBye_ 'was written in deep red letters along the barrel. The dumbstruck blonde reached for the weapon, expecting the cold metal surface to meet her fingertips…

…Instead, her fingers met the warm skin of Veronica's hand.

The two brawlers immediately locked gazes, hellfire burning in both sets of eyes. Blake and Christine slowly stepped behind their respective partner, grabbing them around the midsection preemptively. Everybody else in the room stepped back a few feet, prepared for the worst. Yang let out a few deep breaths, before extending a hand for Veronica to shake. "I believe we can come up with a peaceful solution to this situation."

Veronica nodded, nearly crushing Yang's hand with an iron grip. "Yes, we should settle this like adults, not children…"

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

"…FIGHT!" Blake quickly backed out of the massive boxing ring, leaping over the steel cables and taking her seat next to Ruby and Weiss, with Liz and Christine in the row above them. Yang and Veronica had decided to settle their differences in what they both saw as the easiest way possible; a simple boxing match…

' _Well…'_ Blake thought as she took a handful of pre-war potato crisps out of the tube sitting in Ruby's lap, tossing the junk food into her mouth. _'Maybe not exactly a 'simple' match, so to speak…'_ Her train of thought was cut off as the room was filled with the loud metallic crash of two sets of power armor colliding with each other at full speed.

Yang charged shoulder-first into Veronica, grinning at the satisfying _thud_ that came with the half-ton set of armor ramming into her opponent. Veronica stumbled backwards towards her corner. Yang took her chance, raising her foot and catching Veronica's chestplate with a Spartan Kick ( _AN_ _: Yes I just called it that_ ) that sent her into the ring's corner. She stepped forward, fist up for a swing, but was caught off guard when Veronica's elbow darted upwards, catching Yang in the jaw.

Yang began to stumble, but Veronica caught her by the handle at the top of the chestplate and yanked the blonde towards her into a head-butt. Yang fell to the ground, disoriented, when Veronica suddenly jumped on top of her. Yang could hear the armor groan with age around her as it was crushed by its own twin. Veronica grabbed one of Yang's legs, hoisting it upwards and pinning her. Yang managed to shake her off, quickly darting to her feet. Yang realized she was stronger than Veronica, but experience with the power armor's controls gave V the advantage. Yang decided to end it there, charging at Veronica with her fist primed for a strong right hook…only to get slammed in the face with a roundhouse kick.

The three members of team RWBY that were not in the ring gasped as they watched Yang's helmet get thrown clean off. Blake watched as Yang stood there for a moment, swaying slightly, and Veronica moved forward to end the match. She placed a single finger on Yang's chestplate, slowly beginning to push the disoriented brawler over…

…As a single strand of golden hair, caught by the helmet's sudden departure, floated downwards a few inches in front of Yang's gaze.

Weiss, Ruby and Blake immediately shot out of their seats, running for the elevator. Liz stood up, a confused look on her face. "Hey, where are you guys go-" Liz was cut off as the arena exploded.

Yang shot forward with an angry roar, moving faster than the T-45 was ever meant to move. She caught Veronica by the handle on her chestplate, swinging the opponent over her head and throwing her into the corner of the ring. Yang flew at the stunned woman, fists impacting left and right. Yang grabbed Veronica by the midsection, lifting her so her chest was level with Yang's face, before falling backwards and landing so Veronica's head took the brunt of the impact.

Yang proceeded to grab Veronica again, lifting her up before kneeing her in the stomach, sending her to bend over, gripping her midsection. Yang charged at the steel cables surrounding the arena, using her momentum to bounce back and jump…

…Landing with both feet stomping Veronica's head into the ground.

Yang walked away from the ring, and Blake watched as the blonde's eyes slowly transitioned from a fiery red back to their normal lavender. Yang stepped past Christine and Liz, who had darted into the ring to haul a knocked out Veronica out of the destroyed power armor frame. She reached the improvised pedestal that _Two-Step_ had been set on and claimed her prize, holding the gauntlet under her left arm. "I'll take that…" She walked over to Blake, taking the Faunus by surprise when she grabbed her by the midsection, throwing her over her right shoulder. "And I'll take _that_."

Blake looked over her shoulder at Yang, who had a massive grin painted on her face. "Are you going to take the armor off at least?"

Yang shook her head. "Now where's the fun in that?"

Ruby and Weiss laughed as Blake shot a terrified look their way as the elevator doors closed behind the yellow and black duo.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

 _AN_ _: Well, that's the first half of our 'rest and recovery' section of the story done. Sorry for being two days late on posting, I got a little… err… sidetracked *cough*VAULT-TECWORKSHOP*cough*. Anyway, here are my review responses (this is the last time I do this in the AN, I swear):_

 _HaloWarrior56:_ _First off, I need to say something: I am sorry, but could you possibly stop with the little dialogue parts of your reviews? I am sorry, but the just make it a little harder to understand what you are trying to get across with your feedback. As for chapter feedback: Ch8: Yup, there was no way I was just going to leave Veronica out of this little tale of chaos. Ch10: Don't worry; Yang and Blake are not getting jobs at the Gomorrah or anything like that. Ch11/13: Judging by your confusion and extreme reaction to Goris, I assume you have not played either the Old World Blues DLC for NV, or Fallout 2. The level of 'weird' I'm reaching is about a 6.5/10 compared to the rest of those two. Ch12/14: I know I may have been a bit gritty and gory, but hey; that's how the wasteland works. As for the Bumblebee combo, I understand that some people aren't very big on certain pairings, but this one is A) My second favorite behind WhiteRose, and B) Relatively fun to write for, so please don't let it get in the way of the rest of the story. Thanks again for the (slightly confusing) input, and have a nice day._

 _DragonSoul1:_ _Thank you so much for considering helping, and I know how you feel; I haven't drawn anything in a long time, and I'm more than a little bit rusty. If you change your mind, feel free to throw a PM my way! Thanks for all of the constant positive input, and have a sensational day!_

 _Quartermaster Taney-Chan:_ _I didn't forget about the survivalist's stashes, I just decided they wouldn't really improve the story much. As for the second part of your review, please refer to the top AN on this chapter. Thanks for reading!_

 _DocHoliday0316:_ _Thanks for the compliment! I'm glad somebody understood the history reference (well, it's also a YouTuber joke, but that is beside the point). Ah, yes; another fan of Light Shining in Darkness; by the time you read the title, you've already been shot in the face with it. Thanks for reading, and good day to you sir._

 _Elite Slayer 242:_ _Yup; Zion was fun, but the Mojave calls. This was the first of two 'Rest and Recovery' chapters and I don't plan on going too deep into detail with the Sierra Madre adventure; not worth the risk of mentally traumatizing RWBY. Thanks for more input, and have a nice day._

 _ColeTyger: I believe Salt's power fist wouldn't have been a good choice for Yang, but only because of what it represents as a weapon; the deaths of hundreds in cold blood, murdered by Salt-Upon-Wounds. The reason I didn't have Salt attack Joshua again was because Salt realized that Caesar would have his tribe wiped out for failing to kill Graham, so he was already panicking and distracted. I will read your story if I get time, but please don't hate me if I don't (no web access at home, need to prioritize what I do online)._

 _Nerdfighter1309:_ _Please look at top of this chapter._

 _Well everyone, that's all for now. The request for a cover artist still stands; Just remember, I cannot commission it with money, so if interested, PM me with that in mind. Thanks again for reading, and just remember kiddies; don't feed the Yao-Guai!_

- _DovahCourier_


	20. Chapter 20 - Fucking Around Pt2

_AN_ _: Hello Readers, DovahCourier here. Wow, just… wow. The amount of positive feedback on the last chapter is just shocking, to say the least. All I can say is THANK YOU ALL SO FUKCING MUCH. I expected this to be a complete flop; a couple chapters, a few pissed off reviews, and then I give up. The amount of support you all have given for this fic is just unreal! Alright, that's enough of me being a thankful ball of emotions; on to the story!_

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 _I sadly do not own RWBY or Fallout: New Vegas. If I did, both RWBY and Fallout would be narrated by the Stanley Parable Narrator, and Neo would be voiced by Morgan Freeman. Everything belongs to Rooster Teeth, Bethesda, and Obsidian._

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The Tale of Dust and Sand

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Twenty: Fucking Around Pt2.

Ruby looked out over the Strip from the _Lucky 38's_ balcony. She breathed in the cool night air, watching as the blackness of the eastern horizon slowly turned into a dark blue. She checked her Pip-Boy, noticing it was already three in the morning. "You can't sleep either?"

Ruby jumped at the sudden voice from behind her. She quickly turned around, only to see Liz standing in the balcony's doorway, fully armed and armored. The courier stepped forward, joining Ruby in leaning against the balcony railing. "So, what's keeping you up?"

Ruby let out a sigh. "Just… stuff."

"I know… stuff just sucks, doesn't it?"

Ruby giggled at this. "Yeah, it can." The two sat there in silence for a moment. "So… why are you up?"

Liz looked at Ruby, a cocky grin forming on her face. "You know… stuff." Ruby and Liz burst out laughing. The courier stood up, gesturing towards the door. "I know a way we can clear our minds."

"Really?"

"Yeah; trust me, I know a place." The two began walking towards the door, when Liz suddenly turned around to face Ruby again. "One requirement though…"

"What is it?"

"Bring a rifle."

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Ruby and Liz were lying down on the hood of Liz's car, looking over a deep valley of red stone. They watched as dozens of the coyote-rattlesnake hybrids, which Liz referred to as 'nightstalkers', darted around a cave mouth. Ruby stood up in front of the car, lining up a shot with her new rifle. She pulled the bolt back, listening closely to the internal mechanisms doing their jobs like clockwork before slamming the bolt forwards again. She breathed in, aiming the massive rifle at one of the beast's heads before she pulled the trigger…

…And was thrown head-over-heels into the convertible's passenger seat.

Ruby crawled back onto the car's hood, grumbling angrily while Liz just stared at her, shocked. "How the hell is your back not broken right now?" Ruby reached for her back, knocking a knuckle on one of her vertebrae. She watched as Liz became more confused by the dull metallic thud that resonated from the point of impact.

The duo sat there for a few minutes, firing at nightstalkers and anything else unlucky enough to get in their sights. Ruby raised her rifle and decided to break the silence with something other than a gunshot. "So… what is your story?"

Liz looked up from her rifle, raisin an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"All I know about you is that you survived getting shot in the head twice, are seeking revenge on your would-be killer, and that you're the second best swordswoman I know."

Liz raised an eyebrow, looking at the young huntress. "Second?"

"Weiss is better."

"I'll be the judge of that. Now, where do you want me to start?"

"I don't know… where are you from?"

Liz slowly lay backwards, throwing her arms under her head and staring up at the sky. Ruby followed suit, watching the stars slowly fading away with the coming of the sun. "I wish I knew that for myself."

"What do you mean?"

Liz sighed. "I don't know exactly where I was born. All I know is that it was pretty far northwest; far out enough to be out of NCR turf. I remember trees… not the irradiated twigs around here, but real, green trees! I remember large huts made of mud and wood, with semi-permanent tents dotted around." The courier breathed in deeply, as if the next sentence almost hurt to say. "I remember my mother; white-blonde hair, shocking purple eyes, and a large plasma scar on the side of her face that somehow managed to make her even prettier."

Ruby turned onto her side, looking over at Liz. "What happened?"

Liz closed her eyes, and Ruby could tell she was trying to hold back her anger. "That bastard that called himself my father happened. He grabbed me when I was about five and made a run for it south. We were nomads for years, trying to cut any connection to home. Whenever I mentioned anything related to home, he would beat it out of me. Hell, I don't even remember my last name."

Ruby let loose a shocked gasp. Liz continued. "I remember my eighteenth birthday; about fifteen years ago… he had already sold most of our stuff for Jet, and decided… he decided that being on cloud nine was more important than having a daughter."

Ruby watched as Liz's eyes began to water, and the invincible courier's voice began to crack. "He was on top of me with a knife, trying to tie me up and give me to some raider for a few hours to exchange for a handful of caps. I managed to kick the gun out of his holster and… I… I had to…" She sat up, shaking violently.

Ruby sat up, wrapping her arms around the panicked woman's shoulders. "Shh… it's alright… it's alright…" She rocked Liz slowly, whispering little nothings into the woman's ear in an attempt to calm her down.

A few minutes later, Liz had calmed down enough to stop shaking. Ruby looked into the woman in the eyes, noticing the normally cold feeling of dread had left the deep violet spheres, only to be replaced with sadness and regret. "I'm sorry, I…"

Liz shook her head, a smirk returning to her lips. "Don't worry about it; I needed to vent anyway. Now…" She input a quick command on her Pip-Boy, receiving her new repeater. The wood was stained black, with a leather band covered in tribal designs wrapped around the stock. "..First one to twenty wins."

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Ruby and Liz walked back into the suite just as the clock hit ten AM. Ruby took about three steps into the hallway before Yang was literally on top of her, pinning her to the floor. Ruby tried to struggle for a moment, but stopped when Yang suddenly started punching her in the arm. "One… Two… Three…"

"YANG! What the –OWCH– hell are you doing?"

"…Fourteen, fifteen… and… SIXTEEN! Happy Birthday!"

"What are you talking about?!"

Yang got up off of Ruby, grabbing the young huntress by the collar and hauling her onto her feet. "It's been exactly three weeks since we arrived. What day was exactly three weeks after the last day of winter break?"

Ruby thought for a moment before it clicked. "Dust I forgot! How did I forget my own birth-UMPH!"

Before she could finish her sentence, Ruby found herself being crushed from behind in a hug. She looked backwards, only to bury her face in the rough fabric of Veronica's robes. "Happy Birthday!"

"Can't… Breathe…" Ruby managed to choke out as her breath was squeezed out of her by the brawler. Veronica let go, and Ruby inhaled deeply, regaining the air crushed out of her lungs. She looked up, only to see Veronica and Liz walking into the kitchen, chatting. She turned around and saw that Blake and Weiss had come out of their respective rooms, broad smiles on their faces.

Blake walked up to Ruby, pulling a small cardboard box out from behind her back. "I know it's not much, but this is from Yang and I."

Ruby took the package, opening it to reveal a holotape. She took it out of the box, flipping it between her fingers. "What is this for?"

Blake grinned. "Just put it in your Pip."

Ruby shrugged. _'Well, let's see what it does…'_ She popped open the player on the top of her Pip-Boy, sliding the tape in before closing the player. There was a slight whirring noise as the wrist-mounted computer read the device. The sound suddenly cut out, and the screen was replaced with a list of commands: _[Power Off], [Combat Mode],_ and _[Summon]_. Ruby raised an eyebrow, before scrolling to the 'summon' command and selecting it. At first, nothing happened. _'Aww, maybe its bro-'_ Ruby jumped when a loud crash sounded from inside of Blake and Yang's room. Suddenly, the door burs open, and a robot floated out.

The robot's central section was roughly the size of ED-E, with rusted metal plates forming a sphere. Three eyestalks jutted out from the upper hemisphere of the robot; two held up large, camera-lens like eyes, while one hung limply with wires jutting out of where the eye once was. The machine floated with a large thruster on its underside, with three arms sticking out from where the thruster met the main body. Two of the arms were broken off at where the elbow would be on a human arm, and the last remaining one hung limply with a mechanical pincer on the end.

Ruby stepped forward, literally shaking with excitement as she looked the robot up and down. She noticed the thruster would give out every few seconds, causing it to drop for a moment before the engine would lift it back to a floating position. Her attention was drawn away from the robot by Yang clearing her throat. "So… you like it sis?"

Blake punched Yang in the arm. "YANG! You don't just ask th-"

Before she could finish scolding the blonde, Blake was dragged into a massive hug by Ruby. "IT'S PERFECT! Where did you get it?"

Yang grinned. "House left it in the basement to rust; apparently, he dislikes the Mr. Handy model… something about a corporate rivalry or something. Along with this, there is one more thing…"

Ruby's eyes widened with excitement. "What?!"

Yang reached for her back pocket. "Well… there is a show going on over at _The Tops_ tonight, so…" She pulled her hand out, revealing a handful of tickets. "…Happy Birthday Rubes."

Ruby squealed with excitement, nearly crushing Yang with a hug. She let go, turning to face Weiss as Yang and Blake turned off the Mr. Handy's engine and carried it to the elevator to the garage. "So, Weiss… do you want to, you know…"

Weiss giggled at Ruby's awkwardness. "Dinner and a show?" Ruby nodded, blushing. Weiss nodded, bowing slightly. "Definitely."

Ruby let out a squeak of excitement, quickly hugging Weiss before darting towards the elevator.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Weiss sat in the corner of the garage's boxing ring, head in her hands. _'What am I going to do!? I didn't even get her anything ye-'_

"Hey Ice Queen."

Weiss quickly looked up, noticing Liz sitting cross-legged in the center of the ring, facing her. "Oh! Hi… Liz…" Weiss trailed off, distracted by her thoughts.

Liz stood up, taking a few steps towards Weiss. "So, your girlfriend tells me you're a good swordswoman."

Weiss blushed at this. "Well… I'm not _that_ good…"

Liz tossed a long leather-wrapped package towards the heiress. "That's from Ruby and I… let's see how good you really are."

Weiss opened the package, letting out a shocked sigh at its contents. It was a two foot long lawnmower blade, sharpened to a razor edge. Instead of a traditional guard and handle, the grip consisted of a motorcycle's handbrake with a basket-guard built to defend the wielder's hand. Weiss noted that the basket grip was formatted specifically for a left-handed wielder. The pommel end of the weapon was a small canister with the word _flammable_ written along its side. The blade was lined with a set of small blowtorch-like nozzles coming off of a long pipe that ran along the blunt edge of the sword.

' _Well… it's certainly a lot less elegant than Myrtenaster… Let's see how she swings.'_ Weiss gave the blade a swing, pleasantly surprised at how perfectly balanced it was. She pulled down on the handbrake, and nearly dropped the weapon when the blade ignited in flames. Liz laughed at Weiss' surprise. "What; never wielded a sword that was on fire before?"

Before Weiss could respond, Liz darted forward, wielding her katana with both hands. Weiss raised her blade, meeting Liz's strike and sending sparks flying everywhere. Weiss lunged forward, forcing Liz to jump backwards. "So… how long have you and Ruby been a thing?"

Weiss raised an eyebrow, surprised by the woman's ability to multitask so easily. "About a week… why do you ask?"

Liz darted forward, rapidly swinging her blade in an overhead strike. Weiss countered it, causing the courier's katana to embed itself in the ring's padded floor. "You two just seem a little… distant, for a couple anyways." Liz let go of her sword, pulling a pair of knives out from behind her back.

Weiss leapt forward, jabbing her blade towards Liz's midsection. The courier caught the blade between her daggers, redirecting Weiss' momentum and sending her tumbling towards the middle of the ring. "Well… I don't really know how to interact with her on a… intimate level."

Liz struck, missing Weiss' neck by mere inches. "So… do you love her?"

Weiss swung her sword with full force, disarming Liz. She followed through with the strike, spinning on the ball of her foot and halting her blade less than an inch away from severing Liz's head from her shoulders. "I would give my life in a heartbeat to defend her."

Liz grinned, reaching a hand out to shake Weiss'. "She's a great girl… and she's lucky to have you."

Weiss extinguished her blade, returning the woman's handshake. "Thanks… But I can't help feel like it's the other way around; I don't deserve her."

Liz shook her head, sly smirk forming on her lips. "Don't worry snowflake; I think you'll do fine."

Weiss looked over the ropes of the arena, down to where Ruby was hard at work on her new robot. "I don't know… I didn't even get her anything for her birthday yet…"

Liz looked down at her Pip-Boy, tapping a few commands into the device. Weiss felt a sudden weight on her feet and looked down, only to see a small package wrapped in string. "Whatever you do… just make sure to give her the night of her life." With that, Liz walked away, leaving Weiss to investigate the item at her feet.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Ruby put down her screwdriver. She looked down at her Pip-Boy, quickly sending a few commands through the holotape she had been given. _'Alright… PLEASE work this time…'_ The robot on the table before her shuddered for a moment before the engine kicked in, and the robot began to levitate. Ruby had found a scrapped robot very similar to ED-E, and had managed to replace her new bot's large jet engine with the eyebot's much quieter repulse engine.

The robot's arms, now fully reattached and repaired, spun around on their rail above the engine, flexing to test the joint servos. The eyestalks came to life, each of the three eyes' camera-like shutters opening and closing rapidly. Ruby crossed her fingers, muttering to herself out loud. "Please work please work _please wor-_ "

" _Unit online."_

Ruby looked up at the robot, only to find it staring back at her. _"Personality matrix disabled… do you wish to reactivate?"_

Ruby raised an eyebrow, surprised by the _Mr._ Handy's neutral female voice. "Um… sure?"

The robot's eyes closed for a moment before opening once again, this time bathing the workspace in a deep orange light. _"Oh thank GOD! Do you have ANY idea how long I've been in shutdown mod- WHAT THE BLOODY 'EL HAPPENED TO MY PAINT?!"_ Ruby was taken aback by the sudden change in voice; the previously neutral female voice replaced with a much more chipper English accent. The robot looked itself over rapidly before once again locking eyes with Ruby. _"Pardon me, but… who the hell are you?"_

Ruby reached a hand out as a sign of greeting. "Ruby Rose, huntress in training."

" _Well that's a bloody mouthful, now isn't it? Got anything that doesn't take an hour to say, luv?"_

"Ruby's fine. What do I call you?"

The robot looked up to the ceiling for a moment, hitting itself in the chassis with one of its arms. _"So sorry, where are my manners?"_ It quickly spun its arms around, as if to show off the appendages. _"I am a custom Ms. Nanny-class Mr. Handy, designation: CA50L-1N3 …Caroline for short."_ The robot reached out her pincer arm, the only one with anything on the end of it, and returned Ruby's handshake.

"Glad to meet you, Caroline… What exactly do you do?"

" _I honestly don't know anymore… Last time I checked, I was running House's useless securitrons through weapon tests; next thing I fuckin' know, I wake up in a garage with a surprisingly cute mechanic working on me."_

Ruby blushed, sheepishly rubbing a hand behind her neck. "Well… what do you want to do?"

Caroline just hovered there for a moment, appendages completely still, before suddenly jolting back to life. _"Well, if none of the robots in House's network are lying to me, it appears world finally ended, so, I don't know… want to go blow something up, luv?"_

A massive grin made its way onto Ruby's face. "I think I'm going to like you…"

"RUBY, TIME TO GO!"

Ruby jumped at the sound of Yang screaming all the way from the elevator. "Crap… Sorry, I gotta get going; see ya later!"

" _Wait wha-"_ Before Caroline could finish her sentence, Ruby quickly tapped the 'power off' command on her Pip, causing Caroline to fold up and land on the table.

Ruby reached the elevator. She got in, looking Yang up and down as she did. "Wow sis… nice outfit."

Yang was wearing a leather jacket on top of a yellow t-shirt, with plain jeans and a pair of heavy duty combat boots. "Thanks, V picked it out for me."

The elevator dinged as the doors opened, and before Ruby could even respond to Yang's comment somebody grabbed her by the collar of her Vault Suit and dragged her into a bedroom. Ruby looked up, only to see Veronica wearing a long black evening gown eyeing her up and down. "No, no, no… this won't work…"

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Veronica gestured at Ruby's Vault Suit, slowly shaking her head. "This is _not_ going to work… This thing has to be over a hundred years old! Here, you won't believe the amount of outfits House has littered around here…"

Ten confusing minutes later, Ruby found herself back out in the hallway. She looked at one of the mirrors on the wall, looking herself up and down; a dark maroon suit with a white undershirt and jet black tie. "You look nice."

Ruby spun around, finding herself face to face with Blake, who was wearing a very similar black suit with a white shirt and deep purple tie, with a black and purple fedora covering her ears. "You too! Hey… where's Weiss?"

"Still in her room; she said she'd meet us there."

Ruby opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by Veronica speaking up from the other end of the central hallway. "Alright, I think we're ready!"

Ruby looked down the hallway, looking at the remaining members of their party. Boone had put on a collared shirt and a bow-tie, Christine was wearing an outfit nearly identical to Blake's, only with a black tie and no hat, Cass had put on a slightly nicer than normal flannel button-up, and Liz was wearing her normal duster-leather combo with a dark green clip-on tie.

Veronica ran to the elevator as quickly as her gown and heels would allow, hauling Christine by the arm behind her. Everybody slowly piled into the oversized elevator, taking it down to the casino floor.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

The party reached _The Tops_ just as the sun began to kiss the western horizon. A man in a white business suit greeted them at the door, hand extended to collect tickets. He reached the end of the line, finally laying eyes on Yang and Blake. He lowered his sunglasses, waving an eyebrow at Yang. "Why hello there princess; Let me show you two sweethearts-"

Yang threw a deadly glare towards the man, silencing him instantly. "Alright, you can cut it with the 'sweetheart' 'princess' bullshit right here."

The man snapped his fingers, pointing at the blonde. "You got it sugartits; right this wa-" The man was silenced by Blake kneeing him between the legs, followed by an angry hiss.

The group was led by a much more fortunate man up a set of stairs, towards a set of doors under a large sign reading _'The Aces Lounge'_. Everyone found their way to one of the tables-for-two except for Boone, who found his way to the bar on the left side of the room. Ruby sat down alone at a table near the door, saving a seat for Weiss.

A minute passed before Liz walked over to Ruby, leaning in to be quiet. "I'm going upstairs to search Benny's room… stay happy; Weiss should be here soon." With that, she darted for the lounge's door.

Ruby flagged a waiter over to her table, ordering two bottles of Sunset for her and Weiss.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

A comedian, two musicians, the _Rad Pack_ , and slightly more irradiated comedian later, Ruby was sitting alone, forehead against the table, surrounded by a dozen empty bottles of Sunset and Nuka. She was slowly rocking herself back and forth, doing her best to hold in tears. _'Weiss WHERE ARE YOU! Maybe she got drunk and forgot. Maybe… maybe she just doesn't love me…'_ Despite her best efforts, Ruby couldn't hold in the tears. She began to silently sob, lightly pounding her head on the table. _'Why did I think someone so perfect could like someone so Dust-damned weird? I don't deserve someone as perfect as her! I should leave; no need to haul everyone's night down just because I-'_

Ruby's thoughts were cut off by the theatre owner, a one-eyed man named Tommy, speaking up on the mic. "Alright folks; tonight has been one hell of a show. We have one more performance, a surprise appearance by a visitor to The Strip; so sit back, relax, and show her how we enjoy a show at _The Tops_!"

Ruby stood up to leave, reaching for the doorknob with one hand. "Hello there! This one goes out to a special someone out in the audience tonight…" Ruby spun around, locking eyes with the far side of the room. There, at the front of the performer's stage, was the most gorgeous sight Ruby had ever seen.

The first thing Ruby saw was the hair; soft and white like fresh snow, reaching a few inches past the shoulders. Next, she saw the gown; Long and black with red trim, cut at an angle so it covered one leg while leaving the other gorgeous limb out on display. Finally, she saw the face; full lips with a layer of bright red lipstick, icy blue eyes, and a long scar running across the left side of the face. Weiss stepped forward, gripping the microphone and leaning in with a massive smile on her face. "Alright; ladies, gentlemen, Yang… Let's get this show going, shall we?"

 _ **LINE BREAK-(Ella Fitzgerald – I've Got my Love to Keep me Warm)-LINE BREAK**_

 __Ruby slipped into her room silently, doing her best to avoid everyone else. She looked around, surprised to find the room lined with… _'Are those… candles?'_

"Hello Ruby."

Ruby almost jumped out of her skin at the sudden voice. She looked around, finding Weiss stepping out from behind the door as she closed and locked it. "Oh Weiss, you scared m…" Ruby's brain turned to putty as she got a good look at Weiss.

Weiss stepped forward, sway in her hips, wearing a set of nine-inch stilettos, blood red lipstick… and absolutely nothing else. As Weiss approached a dumbfounded Ruby, she kicked backwards, catching the play button on the holotape player sitting on their dresser ( _AN:_ _Caro Emerald – Just One Dance... trust me, just listen to it in another tab_ ).

Weiss reached Ruby, planting a quick, teasing kiss on her lips. "It's still your birthday for the next three hours…" She lightly pushed Ruby onto the bed, quickly straddling the stunned birthday girl. She leaned in, and Ruby could only let out a cross between a moan and a squeak as Weiss softly ground her knee between Ruby's legs. The seductive heiress leaned in close, nibbling slightly at Ruby's earlobe before whispering into her ear. "Now, how about we make a bit more music for the evening…"

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Blake walked out of the bathroom, having just finished brushing her teeth. She looked down the hall, eyes widening at the sight of Veronica, Yang and Christine…

…Crowding the space in front of Ruby and Weiss' room, fighting for space to press their ear to the wooden door.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

 _AN_ _: There ya go; A bit of backstory for our Courier, some comedy, a new character that I came up with, and somebody got laid in the end. ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!? Seriously though, this chapter was an absolute blast to write; a little more on the Fallout end of the comedy spectrum, but still fused with RWBY-style antics. On the note of upload days: I am sorry, but personal scheduling complications have forced me to only be able to post once a week at odd intervals. Sorry for the inconsistency. Now, on to the guest review:_

 _Guest from Hell: Ah, the X-01. I am personally a much bigger fan of the T-51 series (it just looks a bit more… amazing), but don't worry; Yang will have plenty of toys in her mechanized war arsenal by the end of this story._

 _Well guys, looks like that's it for this week. Stay tuned for next week, when we send our little band of misfits northwest to see one of my personal favorite Super Mutants in all of Fallout. Thanks you all again for reading and just remember kiddies; don't feed the Yao-Guai!_

 _-DovahCourier_


	21. Chapter 21 - Jacobstown

_AN_ _: Hello again Readers, DovahCourier here! I… don't really have anything to say here, so… Enjoy le chapter!_

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

 _I do not own RWBY or Fallout: New Vegas. Those belong to Rooster Teeth, Bethesda, and Obsidian._

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The Tale of Dust and Sand

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Twenty-one: Jacobstown

Ruby slowly opened her eyes. She scanned her surroundings; she was in her room in the _38_ , lying down in bed. She looked at the floor, surprised to find her suit, shirt and tie from the night before strewn across the floor. She shifted to sit up, but stopped when she felt a delicate yet firm grip around her midsection. She looked down, only to find a fair-skinned arm wrapped around her. She followed the arm, rolling over slowly to find herself face to face with a still sleeping Weiss.

Ruby looked Weiss up and down, following the gentle curve of her chest (which was covered up by one of the bedsheets), down to her abdomen, which rose and fell with every breath the woman took. She looked up slightly, confused by the expression on Weiss' face. It looked like a combination of fear, anger, and a hint of sadn-

"AHH!"

Suddenly, Weiss shot up with a scream, eyes flying open. Ruby instinctively grabbed onto the startled heiress, pulling her into a hug. "Shh… its ok, I'm here…"

Weiss buried her face in Ruby's shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably. Ruby just sat there, stroking a single hand through her lover's soft white hair. A few minutes later Weiss pulled away, locking eyes with Ruby. "Sorry, bad dream…"

Ruby looked at Weiss, a worried expression on her face. "You can tell me if you want… I am here for you." To hammer the point of support home, Ruby placed a hand on one of Weiss' bare shoulders, patting softly.

Weiss nodded, acknowledging Ruby's support. "I… I had a dream about my father."

Ruby raised an eyebrow, confused slightly. "Your father?"

Weiss nodded. "Yes Ruby, my father. I… I was back in Atlas, introducing you to him. I told him I didn't want to take over the family company; that I wanted to be a huntress; that I wanted stay with you. He… he…" Weiss began to choke up again.

Ruby squeezed the hand on Weiss' shoulder reassuringly. "It's ok if you don't want to keep go-"

"He screamed for me to get out of his sight! He said I was a disgrace to the Schnee name and that I was banned from visiting home again…" Tears began to make their way down Weiss' face once more.

Ruby pulled Weiss into a tight hug. "Shh… It's ok, it's ok… it was just a dream, alright?" She pulled away slightly, resting her forehead against Weiss'. "If it makes you feel better… I think you would make as good a Rose as you would a Schnee…"

Weiss grabbed Ruby, hugging her tight enough for Ruby to feel a few of her ribs pop. "Thank you…"

Ruby pulled away enough to be face-to-face with Weiss. "Don't worry about it; what are lovers for?" Weiss laughed at this, laying her head against Ruby's chest. Ruby smiled, stretching with a loud yawn. "Alright, time to get up…" Ruby threw the bedding off of her and Weiss, swinging her legs around to the edge of the bed. "Um, Weiss…"

"What is it?"

"Where are my pants?"

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Ruby and Weiss entered the kitchen, surprised to find Blake, Yang, and Veronica already at the table…

…Being served breakfast by Ruby's robot, Caroline.

 _"Alright, that's two cups of coffee, a cup of tea, and scrambled eggs that I'm pretty sure aren't from a chicken. Will that be all, luvs?"_

"Actually, if you have any attachments that are capable of vibr… Oh, mornin' Rubes!"

Blake and Veronica followed Yang's gaze, catching sight of a very tired Weiss… and an infuriated Ruby. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY ROBOT?!"

Yang raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong? She makes great coffee!"

"I wasn't done with the arms! If she uses them too much, they'll-" Caroline's arm holding a large coffee pot fell off at the 'elbow', hitting the floor with a loud crash. "…do that." Ruby quickly ran towards the robot, opening an access panel on the back of her central pod.

 _"Oi! What the bloody 'ell do ya think you're doing back the…"_ Ruby flipped the emergency power switch, and Caroline's voice cut out as her limbs went limp. Ruby looked down at her Pip-Boy, inputting a few commands and sending Caroline back to the basement.

Weiss and Ruby sat down at the table. Ruby threw her legs up onto the table, leaning her chair onto its hind legs. "So, what's up with- AGH!" Ruby was cut off as her chair shifted backwards, sending her toppling backwards onto the floor.

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head. "I think this dunce was trying to ask what our plans are for today."

"Whatever they are, we're making new ones." The entire group turned to see Liz walking into the kitchen, already wearing her armor and armed to the teeth.

Ruby, who had already gotten back up from her fall, looked at Liz, confused. "What is it?"

"This;" Liz pressed a few buttons on her Pip-Boy. Static made its way from the speakers, before a voice could be heard through the device.

 _"This is a distress call… Please, anyone who can… Under attack by mercenaries… old ski resort, northwest of Vegas… setting to repeat… This is a…"_ Despite the constant static, Ruby could tell the voice was a male, and had the telltale signs of being from an older gentleman.

Liz turned off the radio. "Alright, I need two of you to…"

Ruby shot up from her seat, grabbing Weiss by the wrist and hauling her up with her. "We volunteer!"

Liz nodded. "Great; lock, load, and meet in the garage in five minutes." With this, she left the kitchen, running for the elevator.

Ruby turned to face Yang. "Will you guys be alright with staying here?"

"Definitely; we already had plans to start remodeling upstairs today!" Yang said with a sly grin.

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Remodeling? What do you mean, remodel-" Weiss was cut off by a loud crash from a few stories above.

Veronica let out a laugh. "That'd be Christine… We should get upstairs and make sure she doesn't bring the casino down. Good luck!" With that, she grabbed Yang and Blake by the collar before darting for the elevator.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Ruby stopped her bike next to Liz's car. They had driven up a mountain highway, and found themselves surrounded by lush pine trees. Up the road, Ruby could just make out a line of figures standing in front of a large wall, weapons in hand. "Alright, what's the plan?"

Liz killed her engine, jumping out of the car with Cass and Goris. "Easy; assess the situation, try and negotiate, and kick some mercenary ass if it goes south."

Ruby nodded in approval, before killing her bike's engine and dismounting. Weiss followed suit, walking around the bike to help Roxie out of the sidecar. She watched as the cyberdog took a few steps, grinning at how well her leg had recovered since Ruby had first found her.

Ruby turned to face Weiss, gesturing at the girl's outfit. "Um, Weiss… Aren't you a little bit, I don't know… under-armored for this?"

Weiss looked down at her outfit; a clean white pre-war business suit with a dark blue undershirt and a bright red tie, taken directly from House's personal closet. "Don't worry Ruby…" She undid a couple of upper buttons and pulled the collar back, revealing the upper edge of her stealth armor. "…I think I'm covered."

The party made their way towards the gathering up the road, weapons at the ready. As they got closer, Ruby realized the group was large; at least two dozen men with decent looking armor and weapons. Every so often, one of the mercenaries would fire at the closed wooden gate in front of them, leaving bullet holes in the surface. Liz took the lead, stopping a few feet away from the back of the group. "Hey dumbasses!"

Every head spun around, locking vision on the duster-clad courier. A bald, pudgy man in clean, military-grade armor stepped towards Liz, scowl on his face. "What the fuck do you want? This is none of your concern."

Liz grinned. "Actually, all I see is a bunch of punks harassing a town, so I believe it _is_ my business." She drew her sword, giving it a quick flourish before pointing it at the man.

"Hey lady, I'm just doing my job; either get the fuckin' Greenskins to leave, or give them a reason to attack so we can wipe em' all out." He looked over his shoulder briefly at his men, before returning his gaze to Liz. "I don't know if you can count babe, but I think twenty-four mercenaries easily beats four girls, a freaky dog, and an old man in a robe." Every mercenary's gun came up, training on a target.

Liz looked over her shoulder, sarcastically counting the entire group and throwing a sly wink back. "Well bub, I think you miscounted; All I see is four gals, a dog, and…" She snapped her fingers and ducked to the side. Goris threw his cloak to the side, letting out a guttural roar that shook the very ground as he ran his metal claw-daggers along each other, sending sparks flying. "…A motherfucking armored deathclaw. So, if you don't want to become a pile of minced merc, I suggest you hoof it."

The man looked at Goris for a moment, who only threw a toothy grin in the man's direction. The man signaled to his troops, before running as quickly as possible back down the mountain road.

Liz turned around, flourishing her katana once more as she replaced it in its sheath at her hip. "Well… that went nicely, if I do say so myself." The entire group could only stare in silence, mouths agape.

The group started walking towards the large wooden gateway the mercenaries had been attacking. As they approached, Ruby noticed a large sign above the gate. All of the original writing had faded away with age, replaced with the word _'Jacobstown'_ written in large red letters. Suddenly, a deep, gravelly voice sounded from the other side of the wall. "Just a moment, opening the gate…"

Ruby took another step towards the slowly opening gateway, but was gently shoved out of the way by a large scaly hand as Goris darted forward. The doors opened fully, and Ruby was surprised by the sight before her.

Instead of a man, a massive creature stood before the group. Ruby immediately recognized it as one of the beasts Caesar's men had sent after her in Nipton; tall, dark green skin, vaguely humanoid. Instead of leather and chains, this one wore armor made of metal scraps, with an apparatus consisting of a headset and goggles on his forehead.

Before anyone could speak up, Goris charged at the massive mutant, arms stretched out wide…

…And grabbed him around the midsection, lifting the large creature into a hug.

"Brother! It has been too long…" Goris let go, dropping the mutant.

The mutant clapped a hand on Goris' back, a massive grin on his face. "Goris; I thought you were back west searching for more of your pack!"

A somber expression crossed Goris' face. "I… I am the last one."

The mutant frowned. "I'm… I'm sorry for your loss. Now, who is this ragtag team you find yourself with now?"

Goris smiled at this, leading the massive being over to the rest of the group. "Guys, this is Marcus." Marcus waved. "Marcus, this is Ruby and Weiss…"

Weiss nodded, and Ruby waved enthusiastically.

"Roxie…"

Roxie barked, and Ruby noticed a nostalgic smile cross Marcus' face for a moment.

"And, last of all, Liz and Cass."

Marcus gazed at Cass for a moment, before turning to look at Goris. Goris only nodded, smirking. "She sure does look like her pa, doesn't she? She sure drinks like the son of a bitch too."

Marcus laughed, reaching a hand out to shake Cass's. "Rose of Shannon Cassidy… You sure look like your pa."

Cass returned the handshake. "Well, apparently everyone from here to The Boneyard but me has met the bastard, so I'll need to take your word for it."

"Marcus, this is Liz…" Marcus followed Goris' gaze, freezing when his eyes fell upon Liz.

The mutant looked Liz up and down, before making an expression that would raise an eyebrow if he had one. "Have we… met?"

Liz shook her head. "Not to my knowledge."

"What's your last name, young one?"

Liz shrugged her shoulders. "Hell if I know; never really needed to use it, so I forgot."

Marcus shook the woman's hand. "Well no matter; welcome to Jacobstown!" With this, he threw his arms out as if to present the surrounding village to the group. "Feel free to explore, just try not to piss off the nightkin. Liz, Cassidy, Goris… if you would please follow me to my office, I need to talk to you all for a moment." With this, Marcus started walking towards a large ski lodge nestled right against one of the surrounding mountains.

Weiss, Ruby and Roxie began walking in the same general direction, taking in their surroundings. The entire town was surrounded by a wall constructed of trees uprooted from the surrounding forest. There was a large farm, with a small heard of bighorners in a nearby pen. The one thing that shocked the two the most though was the fact that the entire village was populated by Super Mutants.

The duo reached the door to the ski lodge, walking in through the massive oak door. They looked around for a moment, taking in the lodge's decor, before a deep howl from a room to the right gained their attention. Without warning, Roxie darted away from Weiss' side, towards the source of the noise.

Ruby and Weiss followed Roxie, running into the room. They skidded to a halt in the room's doorway, taking in the scene before them. The room was obviously a laboratory of sorts, with entire walls and tables covered in technology. In the center of the room was a pair of people, an older gentleman and a ghoulified woman, wearing pristine white labcoats. On the floor in front of the apparent scientists was Roxie, slowly circling and sniffing at another animal. The creature was built like a bulldog, with a leathery hide very similar to a Super Mutant's. The animal's hind legs and lower jaw were missing, replaced with mechanical counterparts.

Weiss stepped into the lab, grabbing Roxie by the collar and pulling back. "I am _so_ sorry…"

The male doctor waved a hand, dismissing the girl. "Not to worry young lady, I'm used to cyberdogs; centuries old sometimes, yet still as energetic as pups. This is an absolutely _stunning_ specimen, where did you find her?"

Weiss hesitated, deciding to not _exactly_ lie about Roxie's origins. "We found her in some Pre-War science facility. What about your, err… dog?" She gestured towards the stocky creature currently sniffing Roxie.

"Oh, this little devil?" The man kneeled down, scratching the beast behind the ears. "This is Scrap; a traveler all the way from the East Coast gave me him a couple weeks back. Said he deserved a better home than where he was heading." The man stood back up, reaching a hand out. "Where are my manners?! Dr. Henry, canine robotics and cyber-genetics expert."

Weiss accepted the handshake. "Weiss Schnee. Nice to meet you, good sir."

"And you too young lady. Calamity…"

"Yes, Dr. Henry?" The ghoul asked, her voice matching that of an extreme chain-smoker's.

"Would you mind getting a bowl of water for our new friend here? She looks tired."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Are cups not an option he…"

"I was talking about the cyberdog."

"Yes, of course you were…" Weiss pounded he face into her palm.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

About an hour later, Ruby and Weiss found themselves sitting at a table with Henry, a large bowl of bighorner stew in front of each. Weiss giggled as she watched Scrap and Roxie playing, rolling around like best friends. Dr. Henry spoke up. "You know, I think he might be a bit happier if he goes with you; No mutt deserves to stay cooped up in a lodge all the time."

Weiss thought about it for a moment. "I don't know… The _38_ is getting pretty crowded…"

Weiss was cut off by Ruby throwing herself on top of Weiss, gazing up at the heiress with massive silver puppy eyes. "PPPPLLLLEEEEAAAASSSSEEEEEEEEEE….."

Weiss sighed. "Fine… we can keep him."

"YAY!" Ruby rolled off of Weiss' lap before crawling on her knees over to join Scrap and Roxie.

Dr. Henry turned to face Weiss. "You can keep him under two conditions…"

"What do you need?"

He stuck a finger up. "One; give him a damn good home. I've seen too many cyberhounds mistreated and abused."

Weiss pointed at Ruby, who was currently scratching the massive hound's belly. "I don't think you need to worry about that, sir."

The man nodded, before raising a second finger. "And two; I have an associate down at the Old Mormon Fort that has been helping a local leader with his own cyberdog's medical needs. If you could stop by and help get the mutt up here to see me…"

Weiss nodded. "Consider it done."

"Alright than…" Henry reached into his pocket, pulling out a piece of paper and handing it to Weiss. "Just find my associate, and he can lead you from there."

Weiss looked down at the paper, making out the words _'Arcade Gannon'_ written in a rough handwriting. "Alright, I will handle this as soon as I can. Now, I was wondering if there is anything I should be specifically doing to care for Roxie…"

Weiss stopped talking when a knock resonated from the lab's doorway. She looked around, only to see Liz standing there. "Hey guys, we're heading out for a drive… Anyone want to come with?"

Ruby shot up, giving both dogs a final scratch behind the ears. "I'm in!"

Weiss shook her head. "Have fun… I think I'll stay here for the moment."

Ruby bounded over to Weiss, planting a quick kiss on the tip of her nose. "See ya!" With this, the girl darted out of the room, following Liz to the door.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

"Where are we going again?" Ruby asked from the backseat of Liz's Corvega. They had been driving for at least an hour, making their way through pre-war highways deeper into the mountain range.

"Just to go see somebody." Marcus said from his seat next to Ruby. The mutant was so massive that he had to lean sideways, throwing one of his legs unto the armrest between Cass and Liz's seats. "Liz, turn left up here."

Liz complied; taking a left onto a road that Ruby assumed was rough terrain even before the area was swept with nuclear fire. The road went on for a while before coming to a stop in front of a small cabin surrounded by thick trees. Liz opened her door, slapping Cass on the shoulder. "Wake up, lil' Whisky Rose…"

Cass grumbled, getting out of the car. Ruby and Marcus followed suit. Marcus took the lead, walking in front of the group as they all made their way towards the cabin's front door. Ruby looked around the yard, noticing a large shape covered by a tarp peeking out from behind the back corner of the hut. Marcus reached the door and lightly rapped a massive fist against the door.

A loud barking sounded from inside of the house, followed by the click of a weapon being primed and a woman's voice. "NO VISITORS! LEAVE NOW, OR I WILL OPEN FIRE!"

Marcus only smirked, shaking his head. "Can you make an exception for an old friend?" The barking immediately stopped. There was a brief pause, than Ruby listened as a series of metallic clicks made its way down the edge of the door. Suddenly, the door swung open, revealing the owner of the voice…

…A tall, aged woman with silver-blonde hair, piercing violet eyes, and a small burn scar just above her right cheek.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

 _AN_ _: Well, this was fun; mostly a filler chapter, plus that little end bit that I will admit I've been kinda-sorta planning since chapter one. Now, onto the guest reviews:_

 _Guest: 'Bow-chicka-bow-wow' ;)_

 _Well, that's all for now folks._ _The request for a cover artist is still in effect, so anybody interested please PM me for details if interested._ _I will see you all next week, and just remember; keep on fightin' the Good Fight!_

 _-DovahCourier_


	22. Chapter 22 - Savior of the Wastes

_AN_ _: Hello Readers, DovahCourier here! Sorry for the delay… long story short, school prep and a concert absorbed all of last week, and Life has made me its bitch the last couple of days. Anyway, let's get reading, shall we?_

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 _I do not own RWBY, Fallout: New Vegas, or Fallout 2. Those belong to Rooster Teeth, Bethesda/Obsidian, and Black Isle Studios._

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The Tale of Dust and Sand

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Twenty-two: Savior of the Wastes

Ruby looked at the woman standing in the shack's doorway. She wore a basic pair of jeans and a sturdy leather jacket, and held a large-caliber pistol. The woman stepped forward, holstering her gun in her belt. "Marcus… It has been too long, friend." She grabbed Marcus around the midsection, hugging the massive mutant.

Marcus let out a hearty chuckle. "Yes Elizabeth, it has." He pulled away. "I have a few people you need to meet." The woman looked up, as if acknowledging the existence of the rest of the group for the first time. Marcus stepped behind Cass, patting her on the shoulder. "This is Rose of Shannon Cassidy…"

Elizabeth let out a small gasp, looking Cass up and down. "Wow… the last time I saw you, you were less than a month old, strapped to your papa's back as the two of you were leaving Arroyo on the back of a Brahman…" She reached out a hand to shake Cass's. "I'm sorry about your old man… he was a great man, and a greater friend."

Cass shook her hand, nodding at the statement. Marcus stepped behind Ruby. "This young lady is Ruby Rose, a-"

"Where the fuck did you get that suit?" Elizabeth said as she eyed Ruby suspiciously.

Ruby put her hands up, half expecting the woman to draw her pistol. "I got it in Goodsprings… why?"

Elizabeth chuckled. "Ah, Goodsprings… tell me, how is the old doctor doing?"

"Pretty good; managed to get me and my friends out of a bull –em, I mean, a vertibird crash alive and well." Ruby looked at the ground awkwardly, grinding a foot into the coarse dirt. "So… do you want the suit back?"

Elizabeth busted out laughing. "Naw; trust me, I've seen enough of that outfit to last me a century." She patted Ruby on the top of the head, smirking. "Besides, it seems to fit you well…" She looked up to Marcus. "So, who is this last young la-" Elizabeth stopped talking when her gaze fell upon Liz.

Ruby looked at Liz, noticing tears beginning to swell in the woman's eyes. Elizabeth stepped forward slowly, reaching a hand out to cup Liz's cheek. With this, Liz lost it; tears began to roll down the invincible courier's cheeks as she began to choke up, failing to hold in sobs. Elizabeth followed suit as she grabbed Liz by the shoulders, dragging her into a hug. She rocked the emotional woman slowly, leaning in and resting her chin on Liz's shoulder. The mature woman's next action caught Ruby completely off guard; she began to sing softly, holding Liz close. " _Give me a kiss to build a dream on… My imagination will thrive upon that kiss…_ "

Despite her tears, Liz grinned nostalgically at this, and Ruby watched as she slowly began to sing along softly.

After a couple of minutes of this, Elizabeth pulled away, wiping a few tears from her own face as she gazed down at her daughter. "Twenty eight years… Fuckin' hell, how much do I owe you in birthday gifts?" Liz burst out laughing as the two women embraced once more, tears and laughter coming from both.

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Elizabeth walked out of the kitchen into the living room, platter of assorted bottles on her arms. She dropped it on the table everybody was sitting around, before taking a seat on the end of an ancient couch next to Liz. Ruby leaned in from her seat on top of an old bar stool, greedily grabbing a bottle of _Nuka Victory_ before opening the container with her teeth and pocketing the cap. Elizabeth grabbed a bottle of rum and a half-empty bottle of _Nuka_ , pouring the liquor into the soda before taking a swig of the improvised cocktail. "So… what's going on in Sin City?"

Liz took a sip of her bourbon. "Nothing much; just a reclusive Pre-War billionaire attempting to use me for his nefarious and/or dictatorial fantasies, plus a very angry Bear and Bull charging at each other full force with Vegas caught in the middle."

Elizabeth choked on her drink for a moment, before swallowing the cocktail and inhaling deeply. "Well, at least I'm not the only one in the family that likes to stir up trouble." She patted Liz on the back before looking over to where Ruby was sitting. "Now where does a young girl like you come into the equation?"

Ruby shrugged. "My friends and I crashed in the Mojave with no way home, so we're doing what we can to help the wasteland."

Elizabeth nodded. "A noble cause… and how did that lead you to the chaos that is Vegas 'politics'?" Ruby sighed, before going into the rough-cut story of team RWBY's encounter with Liz and her party in Quarry Junction. When she got to the part about crippling the deathclaw alpha, Elizabeth cut her off. "Taking a deathclaw's eye out while running backwards? Now _that_ is one hell of a shot."

Ruby shrugged, patting her Pip-Boy. "Well, I had a little bit of help…"

Elizabeth laughed, putting a finger up. "Just a second…" She stood up, making her way over to a bookshelf in the corner of the dusty cabin. She pushed it out of the way slightly, revealing a small wall safe with a keypad. She input a code, opened the container, and reached inside. She pulled out a device very similar to Ruby's Pip-Boy, locking it onto her wrist and walking back towards the group. "I give you; the Pip-Boy 2000. An older model, but it gets the job done…"

"Does it do this?" Ruby asked as she input a few commands into her personal device. A flash of green later, Ruby's hands were occupied by her massive Anti-Material Rifle.

Elizabeth shook her head. "No, it can't do that… but it _can_ do this:" She quickly input a few commands into her own Pip-Boy. The room was filled with a metallic screeching noise as one of the corrugated steel walls slowly slid to the side…

...Revealing a fully stocked armory.

Ruby immediately darted out of her seat, literally vibrating with excitement as she looked around the room. "Miniguns, assault rifles, revolvers, combat arm-" Ruby stuttered to a halt when she saw the armory's centerpiece. The rifle was massive; obviously built on the frame of an LMG. Despite its size, the weapon was fitted with a long rifle barrel and a sniper scope. The weapon's steel frame shone, obviously cared for with a masterful hand.

Ruby reached forward to touch the beautiful weapon, only to find herself being picked up by the collar from behind. She looked backwards, surprised to find Elizabeth holding her up with one hand, stern expression on her face. "Rule one of being around me: You touch _Bozar_ , there will be nothing left of you when I'm done… understood?"

Ruby nodded vigorously, all attempts at hiding her fear failing. Elizabeth put her down, before stepping over to _Bozar_ and hoisting it off of its rack. "The _Bozar_ ; designed by the military before the war for long-range suppressing fire, I don't think her designers originally planned for my modifications." picked up an ammo belt filled with massive rounds from a nearby shelf, clicking it into place in a port on the side of the weapon. "Replaced her drum system with an ammo belt, extended the barrel, cranked up the rate of fire, and…" She fired past Ruby, through the living room. Ruby looked into the room, noticing a pile of dark green goo where a mannequin had once stood a few feet behind a very terrified Liz and Cass. "I upped the caliber from the adorable little 5.56 to plasma-infused .308 rounds."

At this point, Ruby was drooling over the weapon in the older woman's hands. "Can I touch it?"

Elizabeth laughed for a moment, before drawing a combat knife from her boot. "Until half an hour ago, this weapon was my only child, so… no, no you can't. But…" She gestured to the rest of the room. "You _can_ help me pack the rest of this stuff."

Before Ruby could respond, Liz walked into the room, confused expression on her face. "Wait… what do you mean, pack?"

"What do you think I'm going to do; let my little girl run off on some adventure while I sit here and get old…er."

"While I certainly don't object to you coming along, I don't know if we have room in the car for all of this…"

Elizabeth once again burst out laughing. "Who said anything about your car?"

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An hour and a half later, Liz pulled up with Cass and Ruby to Jacobstown's gate, only to be greeted by Elizabeth, Marcus, and Elizabeth's cyberdog Robo, all waiting near Elizabeth's jet black _Highwayman_. The older woman walked up to Liz, seat, leaning against the door. "What took ya so long, darlin'?"

Liz growled. "That was a five minute gap, tops!"

Elizabeth smirked, gesturing back towards her car. "Yeah; I have a set of power armor in my backseat, an entire armory in my trunk, and a super mutant in the passenger seat; what's your excuse?" Liz grumbled angrily before getting out of the car. The others followed, and everyone began walking towards the central lodge.

Ruby reached the door and opened it, and was immediately greeted by shouting coming from Dr. Henry's office. "NO, YOU LISTEN TO _ME_! JUST BECAUSE YOU WANT TO GET A BUZZ OFF OF SOME PRE-WAR TOYS DOES _NOT_ JUSTIFY DEFACING YOUR RACE'S ALREADY SHODDY IMAGE STOMPING ACROSS THE MOJAVE! HENRY HERE IS WORKING _VERY_ HARD ON FINISHING THE NEW TECH, SO JUST CALM THE FUCK DOWN AND BE PATIENT!"

The next thing Ruby knew, a massive super mutant came storming out of Henry's office. Unlike the majority of the mutants in Jacobstown, this one's leathery hide was a deep blue, with dark veins crisscrossing the mutant's flesh. The mutant passed quickly, shouldering Marcus out of the way in a hurry to leave the lodge.

Ruby entered Dr. Henry's office, leading the others. In the center of the room, breathing heavily with her fists clenched, stood Weiss. Marcus walked into the room, stern expression on his face. "What happened here?"

Dr. Henry stepped out from behind a bank of computer monitors, glasses slightly askew. "I believe I can explain…"

Henry explained how Weiss had helped out with an experiment involving Pre-War stealth technology, and how said tech was connected to the Nightkins' various mental states. When Henry described how Weiss had managed to talk down an angry Nightkin fearlessly, Ruby grabbed Weiss around the midsection, hugging tightly. "That's my girl!"

Blushing, Weiss wiggled free of the young reaper's deathgrip. She opened her mouth to speak up, but was interrupted by a loud metallic bark from behind her. Suddenly, Elizabeth's cyberdog darted into the room, stopping at Henry's feet. Henry knelt down, running a hand along the canine's worm metal foreleg. "Robo! How did you-"

"Ah, Henry; I see you've found something to do after ditching those Pre-War fanatics." Ruby looked over her shoulder, noticing Elizabeth leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed with a smug grin on her face.

Henry stepped forward, looking as if he couldn't believe his eyes. "Elizabeth Arroyo…"

Elizabeth nodded. "In the flesh; get over here…"

The two stepped towards each other, meeting in the middle with a friendly hug. Henry pulled away. "So, how'd the oil rig go?"

Elizabeth chuckled. "Pretty well; freed everyone, and managed to take down that son of a bitch Horrigan while we were at it…"

"Oh yeah, Goris mentioned you had handled him-"

Henry was cut off by Elizabeth grabbing him by the collar and literally lifting him off of the ground. "Goris? He's HERE?"

Henry grinned, nodding towards the door. "Upstairs, last room on the left; careful, he's asleep."

Elizabeth immediately darted for the door, grinning like a maniac, with Marcus on her tail. Ruby watched as Robo stepped over to where Scrap and Roxie laid on a pile of old pillows, joining the two in a nap. Weiss reached a hand out to shake Henry's. "Thank you again doctor; I hope the research goes well."

Henry chuckled, shaking his head. "No need to thank me; you are the one that thought of running the tests through the computer simulation instead of on a live Nightkin... Lily will be thankful."

Weiss nodded. "Just make sure she stays on her medication."

"No need to worry; I think you two's talk helped her out on that issue…" The man reached into his lab coat. "Now, there is one more thing I need to talk to you about." He pulled out a book-sized leather box, with a small control panel on top. He handed the package to Weiss. "You mentioned a friend of yours is a bit more, shall I say, 'discrete' in combat… This model isn't safe for the Nightkin yet, but works perfectly on humans. Tell her to strap that to her waist and turn the knob; it's solar charged, but only works for about an hour a day, so be careful."

Weiss nodded. "Will do; I'll see you in a few days after I talk to your associate in Frees-" Weiss was cut off by a loud thud from down the hall. Everybody in the room darted to the door, looking down the hallway to see Goris rampaging down the hall, Elizabeth sitting on his back, holding the deathclaw by the horns.

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"Well, one hell of a place you have here…" Elizabeth said as she looked around the _38's_ casino floor. Liz and Cass had stayed in the garage, leaving Ruby, Weiss, and Goris to lead the aged wastelander and the dogs to the Presidential Suite. Ruby reached the elevator, surprised to find a note taped to the control panel.

' _Rubes and Ice Queen; Head straight to the top floor._

 _-Yang'_

Ruby shrugged, pocketing the note and ushering everybody into the large elevator. Ruby pressed the large brass button labeled _'Top Floor - Cocktail Lounge'_. A few seconds later, the elevator doors opened with a _ding_. The group stepped into a small coat room, measuring no more than ten feet across. Ruby reached for the doorknob on the opposite side of the room, but stopped when she heard muffled voices on the other side of the wooden door. She leaned in, pressing her ear to the surface of the door.

There was a frustrated grunt, before Ruby heard Blake speak up. "Guys… this isn't going to work. There isn't any room!"

Next, Yang spoke up, sounding as confident as ever. "It'll fit…" There was another frustrated grunt. "We already managed to get three in there, a fourth one won't hurt!"

Veronica spoke up next, her voice slightly tired. "Yeah… Come on C; grow a pair and help push!"

Next, Ruby was surprised to hear the chipper, accented voice of her robot Caroline. _"Ugh, this isn't working. I'll go get the butter…"_

Ruby pressed her ear closer, attempting to get a better idea of whatever was going on, but was pulled away from the door by Weiss. "I swear to dust if they are going at it again…" The angry heiress pushed the door open, revealing a very startled Blake, Yang, Christine and Veronica…

…Attempting to push a set of bookcases between two steel columns.

Weiss looked around for a moment, briefly taking in her surroundings; she was in what seemed to be a pre-war cocktail lounge, complete with glass walls and ceiling revealing an amazing view of the Vegas skyline. To either side of her, a large dividing wall cut off a large section of the circular room, leaving about a third of the room in eyesight. She could smell sawdust, along with the slightly acidic smell of drying paint. She looked at the four girls in front of her; all covered in paint and dust. Weiss crossed her arms, tapping her foot. "Explain. Now."

Yang opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Caroline flying in from the room on the left, stick of butter in her pincer hand. _"I got the but- Oh 'ello Gov', how goes it?"_

Before Weiss could talk, Ruby darted forward, looking at the robot. "Caroline… What did they _do_ to you?"

Caroline had been repainted; a bold coat of white covered her chassis, with a mix of grey and black at the joints. All of her eyestalks were now functioning, and each of the sensory pieces emitted an orange light. Her pincer and saw hands were in place and functioning, along with an odd attachment on her third hand that looked suspiciously like a blowtorch. _"Well, you aren't the only person here capable of fixing a robot luv…"_

Veronica blushed, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. "Yeah… I now a couple of things about robotics…"

Ruby nodded. "Well, thanks for the help! Anyway, what exactly have you guys been doing up here?"

Yang shrugged. "A bit of remodeling, stopped by the tattoo parlor in Freeside to let the paint dry, had some lunch, got back to remodeling…"

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Wait… what about tattoos?"

Yang grinned smugly, nodding to the others. They all reached for a sleeve; pulling up to reveal each one of them had a large bandage on a section on one of their arms. "We all got bored and got a bit of ink. Hell, Veronica and I even chose each other's as a dare."

Ruby jumped excitedly. "Can I see?!"

The girls looked at each other, before nodding and peeling away the bandaging in unison. Christine had gotten a simple yet charming one; a large sniper rifle running the length of her upper left arm, with combat knives crossed behind it. Blake had gotten the flower-in-flames design Yang had made on the back of her duster on her inner right forearm. Veronica had gotten a hand wearing a power fist flipping the bird on her upper right arm.

Yang was the last one to remove her bandage, slowly pulling the fabric away to reveal…

"I DO NOT HAVE A TAIL!"

Ruby jumped at Blake's sudden outburst, running around Yang to see what was imprinted in ink to her right arm. Ruby finally got a good look at it, and had to hold herself back from bursting out laughing…

It was a pin-up of Blake in a very revealing leopard-print bikini, with her ebony-colored cat ears out on display, along with a long feline tail winding its way out from behind her.

Ruby watched as Blake wound up to leap at Veronica, but froze when a deep howl filled the coat room behind them. Suddenly, Blake clambered on top of Yang like a cat in a tree as Scrap came bounding into the room, followed by Roxie, Robo, Goris and Elizabeth.

Veronica immediately dropped to a knee, petting the mutant cyberhound that had found its way over to the robed brawler. Christine joined, smiling as she scratched Roxie behind the ears. Yang did her best to keep Robo at a leg's length away, struggling to balance from the massive Faunus climbing on top of the already top-heavy blonde. Elizabeth let out a high-pitched whistle, and suddenly every dog closed its eyes, falling asleep.

Elizabeth stepped forward, nodding to the group in front of her. "Sorry about that, Robo normally is a bit better behaved… must have been this duo's mutts that riled him up. Anyway, where are my manners;" She stuck out a hand for anyone willing to shake it. "Elizabeth Arroyo the First."

Blake, who had managed to climb off of Yang, shook the woman's hand. "Blake Belladonna; these are our compatriots, Yang Xiao Long, Veronica Santangelo, and Christine Royce."

 _"OI!"_

"Sorry; this is Caroline, our butler-robot."

 _"Hey! Just because one of my FCs is currently replaced with a potato does NOT give you the right to order me around; I am just as good as any one of you…"_ The robot floated out of the room, grumbling angrily to nobody in particular.

Elizabeth moved to shake Yang's hand. The blonde accepted the gesture, shaking vigorously. "I swear I have heard your name somewhere before…"

Elizabeth shrugged. "Who knows? Hell, I have had a good bit of action in the forty years I've wandered the wasteland."

As the older woman turned to greet Christine, Yang quickly elbowed Veronica in the ribs before leaning in to whisper in her ear. Ruby leaned in to listen, catching something about getting rid of a holotape someone bought at the tattoo shop earlier.

Once pleasantries were out of the way, Veronica spoke up. "Alright; it looks like we're all settled… Let's meet in the kitchen downstairs, see how Elizabeth here affects any of our plans."

Ruby nodded. "I'll head down to the garage and get Liz and Cass; back in a minute!" With this, the young huntress-in-training made a run for the elevator.

Ruby reached the garage, surprised to not see Liz or Cass anywhere. She slowly began to walk back towards the elevator, but stopped when she heard a noise come from Liz's convertible. Confused, Ruby started walking towards the vehicle, noticing that the car's suspension was rocking back and forth slightly. She looked into the car, jaw dropping at the sight before her…

…Of Cass and Liz in the back seat, half-naked, going at it like there was no tomorrow.

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 _AN_ _: Well, this is going to be fun; Vegas will never be the same with the Chosen One herself thrown into the mix. Anyway, onto the reviews:_

 _Guest: Yup, a long-lost mother-daughter reunion; very fun concept to write, and I hope I executed it well._

 _Now, onto bigger fish to fry; sorry again for the delay, this entire week has been a combination of school-prep, end-of-summer chores, and dad tearing me a new one for no freaking reason whatsoever_ _. I am truly honored at the fact that this fic just hit the 100-followers club, and I hope you all realize how much this means to me_ _. Sadly, school for me starts up Monday, so I might be slightly delayed on updates; just know I will do my damn best to bring at least one chapter a week to the table. On the note of delays, I will sadly be going on a trip starting Tuesday the 30_ _th_ _to a little theme park called_ _Nuka World_ _(insert fangirling noises here), so expect that week's chapter a little later than usual._

 _Anyway, I don't really have anything else to say. The request for a cover artist is still live; PM me for details, just remember I_ _cannot_ _commission VIA money. Thanks again for reading, feel free to PM me or leave a review the story with input, and just remember kiddies; keep on fighting the good fight!_

 _-_ _DovahCourier_


	23. Chapter 23 - BOOM BABY! Pt1

_AN_ _: Hello Readers, DovahCourier here! I'm sorry for the delay… long story short, life has bent me over its knee and made me its bitch over the last few days. A car wreck (Everyone is ok, don't worry), a rough start to the school year, and having to say goodbye to my great-grandmother have taken their toll on me, so I have been out of it for the last couple days. Don't worry about me; it's my job to get this story written for you guys, and honestly that is one of the few things keeping me going right now. Thank you all so much for reading so far. Without further ado, here it is by popular demand: time to meet the Boomers!_

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 _I do not own RWBY, Fallout: New Vegas, or Fallout 2. Those belong to Rooster Teeth, Bethesda/Obsidian, and Black Isle Studios (I think, correct me if I'm wrong)._

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The Tale of Dust and Sand

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Twenty-four: BOOM BABY! Part 1

Yang threw her covers off, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. She stood up, stretching as she yawned. She looked over her shoulder, smiling at how adorable Blake looked wrapped into a ball, sleeping soundly. She made her way over to the wardrobe that she and Veronica had carried up from one of the expensive suites a few floors down. She pulled out a yellow tube-top and a pair of black jeans, pulling the clothes on over her undergarments. After getting dressed, Yang looked around the room and let out an impressed sigh at the progress they had made remodeling.

The cocktail bar had originally gone all the way around the topmost floor of the _38_ , giving pre-war patrons an amazing view of the skyline. With the help of some power armor, Yang and Veronica had set up walls dividing the large room into three sections; two bedrooms and an improvised living room. Yang and Blake's room was a bit more extravagant than the dorms back at Beacon; black carpet, golden-yellow walls, a king-sized waterbed with black and yellow bedding corresponding to the owner of either side of the bed, and a chandelier that Christine had found abandoned in one of the subbasements.

On Yang's side of the room was the tall wardrobe holding her outfits, armor, and weaponry. Next to this stood the yellow steel framework of a power armor repair station, which currently held the worn down set of T-45 that she had fought Veronica in. On Blake's side of the room was a pair of armor mannequins, one bearing her heavy ranger armor, the other one holding her light police gear she had received form Joshua. Between the two racks sat a large steamer trunk containing the rest of Blake's clothing and possessions, along with a large wall-mounted pegboard holding the Faunus' arsenal of weaponry.

Yang decided to attempt to combine style and defense; she strapped her leather armor's shin, knee, and thigh sections on over her jeans, and pulled on the 'greaser' jacket that Veronica had given her on the night of the _Tops_ ' talent show over her tube top. She finished the look by pulling her 'fiery mane', as Blake liked to describe her hair, into a ponytail and wrapping a lavender scarf around her neck. She opened the footlocker inside of her wardrobe, pulling out _Two-Step Goodbye_ and strapping the weapon to her fist before closing and locking the wardrobe. She turned to head towards the door, planting a quick kiss on Blake's sleeping forehead on the way out.

Yang walked into the bar turned living area, surprised to find Ruby already sitting on one of the extravagant couches, drinking a _Sunset_ and working on a gun. She snuck up behind the unsuspecting girl's seat, leaping over the arm of the couch and pinning her to the floor. "GOTCHA!"

Yang laughed as she heard Ruby scream with frustration from her position underneath the blonde brawler. Yang stayed there for a moment, only rolling onto her own bottom on another part of the couch once Ruby began to pound the cushion with a fist in defeat. Once freed, Ruby immediately darted up into a sitting position, gasping for breath. "Grr… YANG!"

Yang grinned from ear to ear. "Yes?"

Ruby bent over, picking up the firearm that had flown out of her hands when Yang had pounced. "I was in the middle of something!"

Yang raised an eyebrow. "Oh really; and what would that be?"

Ruby looked down at her project. She had realized soon after she had received her revolver from Ranger Jackson that the weapon was damaged beyond repair; the grip was dry-rotted, the sights were dented, and the barrel was bent at a two-degree angle. Instead of scrapping the pistol, Ruby did what she did best; improvised.

She had taken the revolver she found in the odd crater with her auto axe, which she had discovered to be named ' _Blackhawk_ ' from the inscription on the barrel, and taken it apart to its base components. She got rid of the relatively weak .44 receiver, replacing it with the much larger and still usable .45-70 one from the ranger's gift. She extended the barrel, matching the ranger pistol's length while still preserving the delicate inscription along the barrel's side. She mounted the hardwood grip at a more open angle and reinforced the end with a steel cap, giving the revolver a profile closer to that of a flintlock. To finish off, she replaced the ' _Blackhawk_ 's scope with a powerful reflex sight, allowing for pinpoint accuracy while greatly reducing bulk.

Along with the exterior changes, Ruby had also redone a few of the inner workings; she had rifled the inside of the barrel, allowing for a much greater firing range. Along with this, she modified the hammer and cylinder from a single action to a double action, allowing for her to rapidly empty the weapon's five shot cylinder.

Yang let out a low whistle at the weapon in her baby sister's hands, impressed by the handiwork. "Well sis; that's cute and all, but I prefer my new toy…" She raised her right fist, looking over her modified beauty. She had removed _Two-Step_ 's pressure plate firing system, and had replaced it with an internal gyro that fired whenever she punched hard enough, allowing for firing without physically contacting the target. The boxy magazine system had been removed and replaced with a small rotating belt that wrapped around Yang's wrist like a very deadly bracelet. "Not nearly as fashionable as _Ember Celica_ , but she gets the job done right… I hope."

Ruby opened her mouth to retort, but stopped when she heard the elevator open in the back of the room. She looked over the back of the couch, smiling when she saw Veronica walk through the door from the elevator room. "Mornin' V!"

Veronica walked over to the couch, vaulting over the back and landing between Yang and Ruby. "Good morning. Liz needs us downstairs for breakfast, so if you would…" She stood up, gesturing towards the elevator.

"Should I go get Weiss?" Ruby asked, standing up and storing her pistol in her Pip-Boy.

Veronica shook her head. "No, Liz just needs you, me, and Yang… but you may want to throw on something a bit more… effective." With this, she gestured at Ruby's outfit; a basic t-shirt and a pair of PJ pants.

Ruby nodded. "K, I'll go change… meet you guys in the kitchen!" With this, the young huntress darted for the door to the room she shared with Weiss.

Ruby looked around the room, smiling at the amount of effort that had been put into it. The layout was relatively simple: a queen sized bed against the massive glass window/wall, with Weiss' furniture on the far side of the room, and Ruby's on the close one. Yang and Veronica had taken the main workbenches from the basement, and had lined them up on Ruby's wall, along with a couple of old posters, a rack of pre-war comics, and an entire section of wall covered in armory-grade pegboards and weapon racks. Weiss' side of the room was taken up by a pair of massive wardrobes stuffed with House's pre-war business suits, along with a wall-length mirror and a pair of large beanbag 'chairs', one red and one white, sitting in front of a pre-war television.

Ruby reached one of the wardrobes on Weiss' side of the room, pulling out her freshly-washed vault suit and cloak. Deciding she had time to actually change instead of using her Pip-Boy, she draped the gathered clothing over the television. She pulled away her nightwear, leaving on her undergarments. She looked into the mirror, gazing over her own body for the first time in weeks. Her hair had gotten a little bit longer, and showed obvious signs of little to no serious care since her arrival in the Mojave. She ran a hand along her collarbone, smiling at a fond memory as she traced the faint outline of a light bite mark that Weiss had accidently left on the night of her performance at _The Tops_. _'Ah, memories… Well, I should probably get my suit o-'_

"Well, that's certainly a nice view to wake up too…"

Ruby jumped, spinning on a heel to find herself face to face with Weiss. Ruby panicked, modestly crossing an arm over her chest despite still being clad in her underwear. Weiss giggled, standing up from her spot on the corner of the bed and walking over to Ruby. She stepped towards the young huntress, wrapping her arms around her shoulders and pulling her close. "Good morning Ruby…"

Ruby could only let out a squeak as she nuzzled against Weiss. Through the heiress' silk robe, Ruby could feel an odd cold; not the gnawing, stabbing cold brought by a blizzard, but the soft, almost warm cold that Ruby associated with holiday memories. She pressed her nose into Weiss' hair, smiling at the scent she got in return; a strong, minty-fresh scent, with a very distant hint of blueberry.

After a few moments of this, Weiss was startled to hear Ruby trying to hold in a sob. She pulled away slightly, looking into the now crying huntress' deep silver eyes. "Ruby, are you ok?" Ruby nodded, attempting to hold tears back, before failing and leaning in again, nuzzling tightly against Weiss. Weiss began to slowly run a hand through Ruby's feathery hair, whispering to the distressed girl. "Ruby… what's wrong?" Ruby mumbled something under her breath. "Ruby, I need you to speak u-"

"WHAT DID A FREAK LIKE ME DO TO DESERVE SOMEONE AS PERFECT AS YOU?!" Ruby yelled, burrowing her face deeper into Weiss' shoulder.

Weiss let out a sigh as she slowly walked Ruby over to the bed. She sat the distressed girl down on the edge of the bed, reaching away for only a moment to grab Ruby's cloak off of the television. She sat down next to Ruby, throwing the warm cloak over the two of them. "Ruby… I should be the one saying that. I'm the world's most unlovable bitch, raised as the heiress of one of the most controversial companies in all of Remnant. You, on the other hand, are the sweetest, kindest, and most beautiful person I have ever-"

Ruby shook her head, tears returning. "NO! I'm just the 'gun-loving freak' that nobody wants to associate themselves with. You deserve better than someone like me!"

Weiss shook her head, holding back the tears the words out of Ruby's mouth were threatening to bring. "Ruby… do you know why I stopped…" She hesitated for a moment, before taking a deep breath and continuing. "…why I stopped on the night of my breakdown? Why I didn't just close my eyes, lean forward, and end it all there?" She looked at the slightly shorter girl, guiding her gaze up with a soft grab of the chin. "Because you had just made me the happiest person in the world..." Weiss leaned in closer to Ruby, looking the young beauty in the eyes. "…Because, for once in my stupid, spoiled life, there was someone who didn't want my money; someone who didn't merely tolerate me because of who my father was. I was head over-heels in love with the world's most _perfect_ girl…" She leaned in more, stopping inches from Ruby's face. " _…and she actually loved me back_."

With this, Weiss leaned forward, wrapping the duo in Ruby's cloak as they locked lips. They were enveloped in the red fabric, bodies grinding against each other as they went. Weiss was lost in a haze, completely entranced by the taste of fresh strawberry, which was only strengthened by the scent of roses and gunpowder dancing across the heiress' nose.

Weiss pulled away, smiling at Ruby. A few small tears made their way down the younger girl's face, but Weiss quickly realized they were from pure joy. "Weiss… I love you."

"I love you too." Weiss responded, grinning from ear to ear as a single tear of joy escaped her.

Ruby giggled, smiling in a way that made Weiss feel like she was on cloud nine. Weiss leaned forward, smiling as she rested her forehead against her lover's. The two laid there for a moment before Weiss moved in once more, this time planting a few kisses along Ruby's neck. She reached the spot right below where her neck met her jaw, and the kisses became a light bite. At this, Ruby lost it; she let out a noise that fell somewhere before a moan and a scream of pleasure, toes curling as her vision blurred slightly. She instinctively flinched as she felt one of Weiss' hands slowly making its way up her inner thigh, dancing little circles across her soft skin, teasing the young huntress. _'Oh Weiss, don't hold b-'_

"So tell me, was everyone with a pair of tits in this building paired up and fucking like catholic rad-rabbits _before_ I got here, or is this a relatively recent development?"

Ruby and Weiss immediately shot up, sending Ruby's cloak flying across the room. After a panicked frenzy of untangling from each other, Weiss and Ruby looked into the room's doorway, only to find Elizabeth leaning against the doorframe, smirking. She wore a heavy leather jacket and jeans with black pre-war combat armor strapped on over the arms and shins and a set of welding goggles on her forehead. Her silvery-blonde hair hung loose, draping over her shoulders. _Bozar_ was slung over her shoulder, along with a few spare belts of ammunition.

Ruby looked a Weiss for a moment, realizing the veteran wastelander currently in the doorway would be long dead if looks could kill. "May we help you?" Weiss said through barred teeth, obviously furious.

Elizabeth nodded, obviously holding back a laugh. "Yeah; breakfast is in the kitchen, but judging by how things were going in here I assume at least one of you was planning on a sweet little snack in bed instead… Hell, I read somewhere that you actually get protein from eating p- UMPH!"

Weiss hurled a pillow at the woman, and Ruby watched as a vein in the angry heiress' forehead began to throb. Before the heiress could say something she would regret, Ruby slapped a hand over Weiss' mouth. "We'll be down in about five minutes…"

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Fully clothed and armed, Ruby and Weiss walked into the kitchen. Weiss looked around the room, taking in her surroundings; Yang and Veronica sat at the table, arm wrestling. Cass and Liz were also seated at the table, their chairs within an inch of each other, Liz's snoring head on Cass's shoulder. Lastly, Elizabeth stood in the corner, leaning against the counter with a bottle labeled 'Moonshine – John's Special Recipe' in her hand. The veteran wastelander looked up as Weiss and Ruby walked in, greeting the duo with a smile. "Mornin' sleeping beauties!"

Ruby nodded, pulling a chair out for Weiss before sitting down next to it. "Good morning. Now remind me; why do we need to be up?"

Cass nudged Liz's ribs, waking the courier with a start. Liz looked around for a moment before locking her gaze on Ruby and Weiss. She nodded, standing up with a stretch. "Alright… Now that everyone we need is here…" She unclipped her Pip-Boy, setting the device on the table before pulling a holotape out of her pocket. "Everyone here knows that we are 'working' for Mr. Robert House, correct?" Everybody nodded. "Well, I don't think any of us want to end up living in a Mojave with that bastard in charge. The good news is that we don't have to…" With this, she slid the holotape into the Pip's player.

The screen was covered in static for a moment, before a face suddenly appeared. It was a cartoon face, with a massive grin that danced along the line between 'exuberant' and 'psychopathic'. _"Hello there!"_

Liz nodded, gesturing at the face. "This is _Yes Man_. He is our key to owning Vegas."

" _Well, not as much 'owning' as forcefully taking over, eliminating the threats of Mr. House, the Legion, and the NCR all at the same time."_ The AI responded in a voice so chipper it would give Ruby a run for her money.

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "So… how does this change anything?"

Liz spoke up. "That scumbag that left me to die in the desert apparently had his eye set on a big target: Vegas itself. _Yes Man_ here was programed to help him with that. Long story short, if we take care of House and manage to get enough people around the Mojave in our back pocket _and_ help defeat the Legion when they attack Hoover…"

"…Than we would be in a position to force the NCR out of the picture completely!" Weiss exclaimed, an evil smile making its way onto her face. "It's the perfect hostile takeover!"

Everybody eyed Weiss suspiciously. Yang spoke up, slight worry seeping into her voice's tone. "So… when did Ice Queen go power hungry?"

Weiss shook her head. "Trust me; I may not want to follow in his footsteps, but my father is essentially Remnant's version of House. I know an intense business strategy when I see one."

Liz nodded. "Yes; the plan is to hopefully play our hand in such a way that New Vegas itself becomes ours… any questions?" Nobody spoke up. "Alright then, on to step one; getting a few friends."

 _Yes Man_ chuckled. _"Yes; Benny was planning on setting up contacts with many of Vegas' residents in hope of defeating House by sheer force; the Boomers, the Strip Families, the Freeside Gangs, the Khans, the Brotherhood…"_

At this last one, Veronica choked on her coffee. Before anyone could question it, Liz spoke up once more. "Alright then; first up on our recruitment drive is the Boomers. V, I want you, Ruby and Yang to handle them; big guns seem to be your thing."

Ruby raised a hand. "Who are the Boomers?"

Veronica smiled, obviously excited. "They are a tribe living up in the old air force base northeast of here; antisocial demolition experts with some of the biggest guns in the Mojave."

The grin on Yang's face grew wider and wider with every word that came out of the woman's mouth. "Well… I guess you could say that this is going to be a _blast_ …"

The entire room groaned in unison.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

About two hours later, Veronica was leading Ruby and Yang along a cliff face, shading them from the burning Mojave sun. Yang walked up next to the brawler. "So… do you have a family out here?"

Veronica shrugged. "Kinda… they live in a hole in the ground. Well, not as much a hole as a bunker. Full of energy weapons and power armor."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "So… your family is an army?"

"Kinda… it's hard to explain to an outsider… Oh look, we're here!"

Yang followed the woman's raised arm, surprised to find a small scrap-metal shanty built against the cliff face. " _That's_ where the Boomers live?"

Veronica shook her head, grinning. "Nope… It's where my family keeps a few toys…" The woman broke into a run, obviously excited. Yang only shrugged, grabbing Ruby by the arm and running along behind her.

The sisters arrived just as Veronica was pulling a section of the shack wall away, revealing a small terminal. She pulled a keyboard out from under the screen, quickly typing in a command: _PasswordAd-Victorium/Password_. As she input the final letters, the shack's weak-looking door slid to the side, revealing a solid concrete wall. The wall was inscribed with a large insignia: a sword passing through a set of gears. Yang raised an eyebrow. "Yeah… that is an _amazing_ toy, but I think we are already-"

With a sharp grinding noise, the concrete wall split apart along the middle of the sword, spreading open into a hallway. Veronica grabbed the two shocked girls by the arm, hauling them into the shack behind her.

Yang looked around the room in amazement. The center of the room was taken up by a few back-to-back workbenches, fully stocked with spare parts for energy weapons. One of the walls had a half-dozen bunk beds pushed against it, along with a working, stocked fridge. Hanging along the walls were multiple flags: One baring the same symbol as the concrete door, one baring a very similar one, just with the sword replaced with a pair of handguns, and one with a sword passing over an intricately designed lion, crossed out with a large spray-painted 'X'. In the far end of the room was a large reinforced steel cage, containing the most beautiful set of armor the blonde brawler had ever seen.

It was power armor, that much was obvious to Yang, but any other information was lost. Unlike the T-45, this set's plates were much more organic; smoothed out shoulders and chestplate, leading to a natural-yet-indestructible air surrounding the mechanical beauty. While the T-45 had been covered in rust, this set looked straight off of the production line: clean chrome paint, with the same symbol from the door printed in white on the shoulder plates and front. The visor was a single slit going across the faceplate, with a headlamp placed on the upper forehead.

Veronica stepped next to the cage, opening the hydraulic door with a button to the side of it. "I give you my baby, the T-51b." With his she stepped behind the menacing set of armor, opening the rear like the T-45. She stepped in, giving the set a few stretches before stepping forward. She spoke up, her voice distorted slightly by the armor's helmet. "So… what do you think?"

Ruby nodded out of respect, personally finding the equipment to be a bit too bulky for her taste. Yang only stepped forward, drooling. She ran a hand along the armor's curves, entranced by how something (other than Blake) could be so deadly, yet so beautiful. Veronica tilted her head slightly, looking down at the enthralled brawler. "Um… can I help you? I may have about three inches of steel on, but I still count this groping me…"

Yang backed off, blushing slightly. "Um… do you have a spare?"

"Sorry, nope… but you can have parts from what's left of my T-45. Anyway, let's get moving…" With this, Veronica grabbed a bottle of Nuka from the fridge, put the bottle's top into one of her helmet's multiple input nozzles, and headed for the door.

About twenty minutes later, the trio found themselves on a rocky ridge, looking down on the mouth of a train tunnel heading into the cliff face. Veronica pointed at the tunnel. "Alright; that should lead us straight past the Boomer's artillery zone."

Ruby looked at the massive power-armor clad woman next to her, confused. "Wait, artillery?"

Veronica nodded. "Yup, artillery. Once we get through the tunnel, stay on my ass and make a break for the fence. If we get close enough, they can't fire. Now, let's get…" Veronica was cut off by a loud roar from the other side of the tunnel. The three looked over the ridge, down towards the tunnel…

…Only to see three deathclaws making their way past a few rocks on the other side of the tunnel.

Ruby shook her head, slowly backing away. "Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. _NOPE!_ If you need me, I'll be taking the long way around the-" Before she could even finish her sentence, Ruby was cut off by Veronica vaulting over the ridge, landing twenty feet below with a loud thud.

Mouths agape in shock, Ruby and Yang watched as Veronica charged forward. The first deathclaw looked up from the chunk of gecko it was gnawing on, just in time for a metric ton of angry brawler to collide with it's chest. Veronica shouldered the deathclaw into a stack of rocks, crushing it with a satisfying crunch. She spun around; apparently unfazed by the fact that she had cornered herself between a rock wall and two deathclaws.

One of the two deathclaws darted forward, arms out and ready for the wasteland's deadliest hug. Veronica swung her body sideways, bringing a heavy boot up at full speed. The boot connected with the spot where the creature's jaw met the skull, spinning the creature's entire head around and snapping its neck. The final deathclaw hesitated for a moment before lunging, following its fallen kin. Veronica jumped, wrapping one hand around each of the beast's horns, before yanking its head downwards onto her raised knee, tearing the skull in half.

Ruby and Yang made their way down the ridge, gawking at the carnage that their friend had left in her wake. Yang walked up to Veronica, clapping slowly. "Well, you certainly know how to show a couple of ladies a good time…"

Veronica bowed. "I like to do my best! Now, let's get going…" With this, she grabbed each sister by the collar, threw them onto her shoulders, and began to walk towards the tunnel.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

A few minutes later, the trio came to the end of the train tunnel. Yang looked out first, following the tracks north to a fence about a hundred meters away. To the west and south stood the remains of a pre-war town; chunks of house frames scattered everywhere, with large craters peppered everywhere. Veronica took the lead, scanning the surrounding area before pointing for the fence. "Alright, here's the plan; follow the tracks, run like hell, and don't look back."

Ruby looked around, confused. "Why do we need to run? There isn't anything o-" Ruby was interrupted by a thunderous boom in the distance. Everyone looked out of the tunnel, following a small black dot arcing into the sky in the far distance. The unknown object reached its apex, and that's when Ruby heard the noise; a distant whistling noise, slowly getting deeper and louder.

"GET DOWN!"

Without warning, Veronica tackled Yang and Ruby, pinning the sisters under a metric ton of steel. A few seconds later, a massive explosion sounded a few feet away from the tunnel entrance.

Yang's ears were ringing. She felt the weight of Veronica lift away from her, hauling her up by the collar. She couldn't hear anything, but the woman's frantic pointing towards the distant fence said everything; _'RUN LIKE HELL!'_ Yang followed as Veronica and Ruby began running towards the fence. Her ears slowly stopped ringing, just in time to hear another artillery shell inbound. Instinctively, she crossed her arms over the back of her neck, preparing for the impact…

…That never came.

Yang looked up, surprised to see Ruby standing still, pistol in hand. She followed her little sister's gaze, following it upwards to find a plume of black smoke forming in the air less than fifty feet up. Without hesitation, Yang grabbed Ruby by the midsection and threw her over her shoulder, deciding to save comments on the girl's marksmanship for later.

A long, stressful minute of dodging, weaving, and shooting later, the trio made it to the fence. Ruby looked at the fence, brushing a bit of rust of an ancient sign.

 _Nellis Air Force Base, USAF_

 _Trespassers will be shot on sight_

Ruby looked through the fence, observing the military compound within. There were two massive hangers, surrounded by smaller barracks and guard posts. In the distance stood a concrete building, surrounded by a large field of solar panels.

The group followed the fence west, soon reaching a gate. The gate was latched shut, with nobody in sight to guard the entrance. Veronica strolled up to the gateway, sarcastically knocking on the large sign reading _'Fuck off or else'_ in rough red paint. "Hello, pizza delivery!"

A man came out from behind a sandbag barricade on the other side of the fence. He wore an interesting outfit; a vault suit like Ruby's, with a black military jacket on top, along with assorted jewelry crafted from spent ammunition casings. Ruby would not have been very intimidated by the relatively unarmored man… if he wasn't currently wielding a massive missile launcher. "HALT! How did you get past our artillery?"

Veronica shrugged. "Honestly? Running and pure luck."

The man shook his head. "Bullshit. I had you three in my sights the whole time!"

Yang stepped forward, hoping the man wasn't crazy enough to use a missile launcher at such a close distance. "Well than I think _someone_ might need a bit of target practice…"

The man took aim with his weapon. "Low explosive warheads; won't kill me, but should be enough to kill some outsider bitch…"

"PRIVATE!" The man froze, lowering his weapon and snapping to attention. A woman wearing high-quality combat armor emerged from behind one of the steel barrack buildings. "What do you think you're doing?!" The man lowered his head, staying silent. The woman shook her head, looking up at the newcomers. "Sorry for our greater, he's a bit…" She shot the man a glare. "…dim. Anyway, if you would please come through the gate and follow me, our leader wishes to meet the people capable of making it here in one piece…"

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Ruby looked around the barracks, settling in a comfortable chair against the wall next to Yang. The room was dull, obviously military. There was a large desk in the center of the room, where Veronica currently sat across from an older woman wearing a well-maintained military uniform on top of a vault suit. The woman eyed Veronica up and down, obviously cautious. "Alright, I'll skip straight to business: What is the Brotherhood doing sending a scouting party up here; we've already refused to communicate with your selfish order."

Veronica shook her head, and Yang could tell the robed woman was smirking. "Alright, I see how you might think I'm with the Brotherhood…" She pointed at the set of T-51 standing in the corner of the room, empty. "…But I am NOT here on business for them currently. We are here on business reasons."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Business reasons?"

Veronica nodded. "Yes; business reasons: We are here to make a proposal. We all know that New Vegas is just a powder keg waiting to go off, and none of the outcomes look very promising, so we and our associates have a request: We help you with whatever you need, and you help us once the Dam turns into the largest battlefield the wasteland has seen since days of The Master's Army." With this, Veronica threw her feet onto the table, crossing her arms behind her head.

The woman stared at Veronica, shocked, before bursting out laughing. "Well little lady, you sure got spunk. I believe introductions are in order…" She stuck her hand out to shake Veronica's. "Mother Pearl, leader of the Boomers."

Veronica returned the handshake, taking her feet off of the desk. "Veronica Santangelo. These are my associates Ruby Rose…" Ruby waved, smiling. "…And her sister, Yang Xiao Long." Yang nodded.

Mother pearl nodded. "Alright, I'm going to get to brass tacks; we need help."

Ruby sat up. "What do you need?"

"Ugh, where do I start? Our solar field is barely even hitting half efficiency, our doctor is a complete dumbass, and don't even get me _started_ on the ants…"

Veronica grinned. 'Those sound like a _great_ place to begin! What do we need to do?"

"Well, if you're in the mood to be an exterminator, go talk to our Master-at-Arms by the gate. If you have any medical skills whatsoever, please go over to the hospital barrack next door. If you want to try and fix the solar array, talk to Loyal in the empty hanger." With this, Mother Pearl stood up, shook the three's hands, and walked into a room to the side of the building.

Veronica clapped her hands together, gaining Ruby and Yang's attention. "Ok, where do we start?"

Ruby raised a hand. "I can manage the solar array… sounds like a basic fixer-upper job."

Veronica nodded. "Make it happen. Meet back here when you're done." The energetic huntress nodded before darting for the door.

Yang spoke up, rubbing a hand on the back of her neck. "I don't know about you, but I'm not exactly the best medic. Dad taught Ruby and I how to handle burns and bullet wounds, but all of my other experience with the human anatomy beyond that has been a bit more…"

Veronica put a hand up, silencing the blonde. "Don't worry, I have basic field medic training. Go have some fun with the bugs." With this, she grabbed Yang by the shoulders, hugging the brawler. "Stay safe."

"I will, don't worry."

Veronica pulled away, running for the door. Before she could leave the building, however, she reached into one of her robe's many pockets, drawing out a large cylinder. "Hey top-heavy: Try not to scratch the paint!" With this, she tossed the device to Yang, before running off towards the medical barracks.

Yang looked at the device in her hands, grinning like a kid on Christmas when she realized what it was.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Yang made her way towards the bunker. Her instructions simple; kill the ants, plant the sonic emitter in the nest to prevent more from coming, and switch on the backup generators. She reached a chain-link gate separating the power facility's door from the rest of the base. She placed a hand on the latch, pulling lightly…

…and tearing the entire gate away from the fence with a metallic screech.

' _Hell, V was NOT lying about this thing's strength…'_ Yang stepped through where the gate had once stood, having to shoulder more of the fence out of the way to make room for the massive set of T-51 that the blonde currently wore. Yang looked around the inside of her helmet once more, surprised at how much more comfortable the armor was over the T-45. Each step forward felt less like the joints were about to burst, and more like an extension of the body. The armor's heads-up display blinked with hundreds of lights and readouts, from the amount of power left in the current FC (at least an hour's worth), to a large red button labeled ' _M.A.D. (do not touch!)'_ within reaching distance of the operator's chin.

Yang stepped towards the massive metal door, turning the large hydraulic valve in the center of the door. With the scream of years of rust, the door slid down into the ground, revealing a cavernous tunnel leading farther underground. Yang blinked twice, activating the armor's bright gold spotlight, before stepping forward into the darkness.

Yang made her way into the underground facility, scanning her surroundings as she went. Sadly, the armored frame didn't allow for Yang to wield _Two-Step_ , so she was forced to carry her grenade rifle in one hand, and _Big Boomer_ in the other. She reached what appeared to be a large control room; walls covered in terminals, with a large window looking down on the rest of the facility. She looked around, stopping when her gaze reached one of the dark corners of the room.

The woman had to be no older than twenty-five; not a single wrinkle or grey hair on her. She wore the tattered remains of the Boomers' signature jumpsuit-jacket combo, apparently torn apart by something with mandibles. Yang kneeled down next to the dead woman, looking closely at her limbs. There were dozens of insect-like bite marks all over, with a few burn marks mixed in. Yang reached a hand out, gently closing the woman's eyes, replacing the look of horror on her face with one of peace. Yang picked up the grenade launcher laying across the woman's lap, looking closely at the words engraved in the weapon's wooden pistol grip; _'Thump-Thump'_. With a nod of thanks, she slung the weapon over her shoulder.

Yang stood up slowly, freezing when she heard a noise from behind her. It was a sharp clicking, interrupted every so often by a metallic clang. Yang spun around, surprised to find herself a few feet from the largest ant she had ever seen. It was at least three feet from mandibles to tail-end, with a deep orange carapace. Yang grinned. "Aw, now aren't you just a cute little b-" The ant charged forward, opening its mandibles wide…

…and spraying Yang with an intense wave of flames.

Yang stumbled backwards, taken aback by the attack. She was physically unharmed, but could feel the armor heating up by the second. She lunged forward, smashing the insect under a massive mechanical boot with a wet crunch. She raised her boot, shaking her head at the jam that was once the ant's head. "Ugh, Veronica is going to kill me…" She walked towards the control room window, looking down at the rest of the facility. "Eh, there can't be that many ants down… AWW COME ON!"

Yang drew her grenade rifles, preparing mentally to jump into the swarming nest of dozens of ants below.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Ruby stretched, wiping sweat from her brow. _'Alright, let's see what's wrong with this one…'_ Ruby was working on the last damaged solar panel in the Boomers' field of the sun-harnessing machines. She looked at the actual panel, surprised to find nothing wrong with it. _'Ok… it must be something with the wiring.'_ She reached into the tool belt that the Boomers' engineer, Loyal, had given her, drawing out a screwdriver. She leaned down, removing a panel on the stem of the solar panel.

Ruby drew a flashlight form her belt, shining its light into the hole. Sure enough, one of the wires was corroded beyond use. She reached into the gap with a set of cutters, removing the corroded section of wiring. She reached into her belt, pulling out a short length of wire. She repaired the removed section of wire, replaced the safety panel, and hit the activation switch at the base of the solar panel. She then plugged her Pip-Boy into an access port on the side of the panel, reading the system diagnostic with a smug grin. _'Array working at 130% output… damn I'm good!'_

Ruby sat up, packing up her tools and preparing to make her way back to Pearl's barrack, when a sudden noise caught her attention. She looked towards the power facility, which stood a few meters to the east of where she sat. Ruby was surprised to see Veronica's power armor sprinting towards her position, full speed. Ruby stood up, putting her hands out to gain the running woman's attention. "V! Slow down!" The power-armor clad figure skidded to a halt mere inches from Ruby. She reached up to her helmet, pulling it away to reveal an exhausted and terrified Yang Xiao Long.

"YANG!" Ruby immediately latched ono the startled brawler, checking her for injuries. "What happened?!"

Yang leaned forward, hands on her knees, exhausted. "Power back on… Placed emitter… Larva and smaller ones exploded… Queen…" Before she could finish, Yang was interrupted by a high-pitched screech from the concrete building she had just come sprinting out of. Ruby watched as the massive steel door slowly began to glow, going from a deep red, to a bright orange, to a blinding white. Suddenly, with a loud thud, the door exploded outwards in a shower of molten steel…

…Revealing an ant the size of a pickup truck.

The thing was massive, covered in thick black plating. Each of its legs was the size of a large rifle, with barbs the size of combat knives. The creature's scimitar-sized mandibles clashed violently, with gouts of fire escaping from between them. Ruby immediately drew her revolver, emptying all five of the weapon's .45-70 rounds between the beast's mandibles. The creature recoiled for a moment, before charging forward like nothing happened.

' _Alright… time for the big guns...'_ Ruby typed a few commands into her Pip, storing the ' _Blackhawk Redux'_ and drawing her massive AMR. She had replaced the ancient wooden stock and foregrip with deep red mahogany, and had replaced many of the gun's firing mechanisms with jet-black titanium. Along with these, the gun's steel frame had been recast and reinforced with both titanium and carbon fiber; both colored a white-grey. The stock had a heavy metal end cap, further reinforcing the already strong wood. To finish the design off, Ruby had given Weiss the task of naming the massive weapon. Ruby ran a hand along the letters, grinning at how masterfully the words _'White Rose'_ had been engraved into the stock.

Ruby kneeled and took aim with the massive rifle, centering her sights on one of the creature's eyes. She inhaled, fine-tuned her aim, and exhaled, pulling the trigger. _'Seven.'_

Ruby watched as the round impacted the beast's thick plating mere inches from the targeted eye, leaving a few cracks but otherwise leaving the ant unharmed. Ruby cycled the rifle's bolt, ejecting the massive .50cal casing and loading another one into the weapon's chamber. She stood up, this time taking aim at one of the creature's legs. She fired, taking it off at the knee. _'Six.'_

Ruby took advantage of the ant's weakness, charging forward and firing a few more rounds into its armored head. _'Five… Four… Three… Two… One…'_ The final round hit one of the beast's antennae, breaking it off at the base. The ant charged forward, flames flying from its maw as it frenzied. Ruby jumped and spun her rifle around, facing the butt towards the creature's head, before pulling the trigger. _'…Zero.'_ The massive rifle's recoil sent Ruby flying towards the ant, driving the steel-reinforced stock through its weakened head armor, killing it instantly.

After wiping the ant brains and soot off of her boots, Ruby made her way over to where Yang sat; slumped against the solar panel the young reaper had just been working on. "Well, that was interesting…" She looked down at the power armor clad blonde, shaking her head when she realized the brawler had fallen asleep.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

About half an hour later, Ruby and Yang found themselves back in Mother Pearl's office, this time sitting alongside Veronica in chairs directly across from the Boomers chieftain at her desk. Mother Pearl leaned forward, wide grin on her face. "Well, you have all certainly shown your usefulness around here. I have spoken with Loyal, and he agrees; once the Legion attacks Hoover, we will side with whomever you need us to side with."

Yang and Ruby inwardly cheered, while Veronica just extended a hand to shake Pearl's. "Well that is great to hear; if that is all, we should be on our way…"

Pearl raised a finger cutting Veronica off. "Now hold up for just one second. If you are willing to hear me out, I believe there is one more thing we could use your help with…"

Veronica shrugged. "Sure, we have the time."

Pearl stood up, ushering the group towards the door. "Well in that case, we should hurry over to Loyal's house… It's time you all learned about the Boomers' best-kept secret."

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

 _AN_ _: Well, that was a fun chapter to write. Again, sorry for the delay; life can be a bitch sometimes. As discussed in the last couple of author alerts, I am now going to be spacing the chapters out a bit more due to schoolwork and time constraints. Now, onto the Guest Reviews:_

 _Cole Tyger: Yup, having the two-weeks to write takes a lot of stress off of my schedule, and lets me get better chapters out. As for your Chapter 22 response: It is official, the Legion is more-or-less completely screwed. Weiss, being the heir to the Schnee Dust Co, needs to have negotiation skills… even if those skills sometimes involve a little bit (or a fuck-ton) of yelling. As for the invisible Blake thing, don't worry… next chapter will see plenty of that ;). Anyway, thanks again for reading, and thanks for the constant input!_

 _Guest from Hell: The hell with Qrow, I'm pretty sure Ruby broke out with a nosebleed right then and there XD! Anyway, thanks again for reading!_

 _Well, that's all for now folks. Thank you all for being patient, and don't worry; the next chapter is already in the works! Thank you all again so much, and just remember; Keep on fighting the good fight!_

 _I love you all,_

 _DovahCourier_


	24. Chapter 24 - Black Mt Blues

_AN_ _: Hello Readers, DovahCourier here! Ah, the Boomers: Loud, Crazy, Fun, and… not the focus of this chapter. While the sisters and V handle the Mojave's xenophobic explosive experts, let's focus on a duo that is much more… subtle in their work. Sorry for the delay; school is a bitch, and it's kinda hard to write for fun when I'm already writing for schoolwork 24/7 (Take the Honors Civics credit they said, it'll be easy they said…). Anyway, time for the chapter;_

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 _I do not own RWBY, Fallout: New Vegas, or Fallout 2. Those belong to Rooster Teeth, Bethesda/Obsidian, and Black Isle Studios/Interplay. All I own is the dinosaur laptop I'm writing this on._

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The Tale of Dust and Sand

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Twenty-four: Black Mountain Blues

Blake walked into the kitchen, still rubbing sleep out of her eyes. She looked around the room, surprised to already find Cass, Liz, Elizabeth and Weiss awake and alive, leaning over the kitchen table, whispering to each other. Cass took a swig of what Blake assumed to be spiked coffee before looking up at Elizabeth, irritated expression on her face. "Why do I have to be Ms. Pink?"

Elizabeth smirked, leaning in to whisper to the woman. "Because, and I say this for a very important reason;" She took a deep breath before screaming the next words, sending Cass tumbling across the kitchen. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" The wasteland veteran looked back to the table as if nothing had happened. "Now, if we can stun the door guards with a couple of pulse frags, we should be able to…"

Weiss elbowed Elizabeth, coughing loudly as she nodded in Blake's direction. Liz looked up at the new arrival, stuffing the papers they had been looking at under a tablecloth as quickly as she could. "Good morning Blake!"

Blake raised an eyebrow at the group's behavior, but shrugged it off as nothing. "Good morning. Yang set my alarm, saying you all wanted me down here for some reason…"

Liz nodded. "Yes we do. Now, there is something we need done that I believe your specific… er, skill set will help with."

Blake raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "My 'skill set'?"

Weiss nodded. "Yes... we need someone who can be discrete. An infiltrator, if you would."

Blake nodded, seeing where this was going. "Alright; what am I stealing?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "No, no, no… you aren't stealing anything; you're just checking in on someone."

Liz cut the older woman off. "Yes; yesterday, during my conversation with Marcus up in Jacobstown, he told us about a scout he sent south of here who has not responded. Your objective; check on this scout, and help him with his mission if necessary."

Blake shrugged. "Sure. Just tell me where to go and I'll be done by noon…"

Liz shook her head. "This is a bit of a dangerous area we're sending you into, so you will have backup…"

As Liz said this, Blake's attention was drawn to the sound of a soft breath from behind her. She spun around, flicking a throwing knife out of its hiding spot in her sleeve, only to find herself face to face with Christine.

The mute assassin stepped forward with a sway in her hips, which immediately drew Blake's attention to the woman's outfit. She wore a skin-tight black bodysuit, which greatly complimented her slim-yet-firm athletic build. There were thin armor plates placed over vital parts of the armor, along with a thick roll of fabric around the base of her neck. Over the woman's shoulders sat a pair of intricate swords; chromed, serrated blades and gold-plated grips, with wires running the length of each blade to a battery just above the guard. Along with the blades, she also had her long, suppressed sniper rifle slung across her lower back, barrel and stock folded against the receiver.

Liz spoke up, gesturing to Christine. "You will be working with Christine here."

Blake shook her head. "Sorry; this is an infiltration op, so I work alone. How do I even know she can manage stealth?"

Christine threw Blake a cocky grin before pressing a button on the side of her armor's collar. Immediately, the bundle around her neck became ridged, forming a full-head covering helmet. The helmet's entire front section was taken up by a curved orange plate, which Blake assumed was the visor. Blake opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off when Christine raised a hand, snapped her fingers…

…And completely disappeared from view in a brief shimmer of light.

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Blake looked down from her spot on the ridge, observing a scrap metal shack. She wore her heavy ranger gear, with her kukri strapped in its sheath and a silenced .45 on each hip, preferring to have her weaponry directly on her body over having it floating around as data on her wrist. She blinked three times; activating the visor's built in IFF tag sensor. Immediately, the Faunus could see the bright red outline of the invisible Christine sitting a few feet away, twirling a combat knife between her fingers.

Blake snapped her fingers, gaining the woman's attention. She pointed towards the metal shack on the edge of the road, looming in the shadow of the massive mountain before them, before moving two fingers across an open palm in a running motion Christine nodded, leaping over the edge of the ridge and sliding down the steep rock wall. Blake reached down to her hip, looking at the device Weiss had helped strap onto her side. _'Only has two hours of charge… I'll need to be careful.'_ With that, the huntress in training turned the knob on the device, quickly fading into invisibility as she followed the mute assassin over the ledge.

The duo reached the shack. There was nothing of great importance; a few scraps of meat, an empty water bottle, and a damaged radio. They turned to head farther up the road leading up the mountain, but stopped when they heard a sudden noise from outside of the shack. Blake peeked out through one of the many holes in the shack's one sturdy wall, only to see a massive super mutant making its way towards the shack.

Blake drew Joshua's .45 from her holster, doing her best to line up a shot despite her weapon's sights being cloaked along with her. She inhaled, preparing to pull the trigger, when Christine grabbed her by the shoulder. Blake looked up at the assassin, only to find her shaking her head rapidly, pointing at the mutant. Blake thought for a moment, before it finally clicked. "Is that our…um, man?"

Christine nodded, snapping her fingers and becoming visible once more. Blake followed suit, turning the dial on the top of her Stealth Boy and slipping back into visibility. The duo walked out of the shack, only to find themselves face-to-face with the eight-foot-six super mutant.

The mutant looked down at the duo, obviously both irritated and confused. "May I… help you?"

Blake nodded. "Yes, we are here looking for Neil, a friend of Marcus' from Jacobs-"

The super mutant burst out laughing. "Ha! Now that is a name I haven't heard in well over a year. Well, you can go tell Marcus that there is no chance in hell that Tabitha is backing down."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "Tabitha?"

The mutant nodded. "Yes, Tabitha; the nightkin overlord at the top of the mountain. I was sent to see if I could either get her to stop broadcasting her radio station, or if a possible alliance between Black Mountain and Jacobstown was possible… as you can probably see, it didn't end well."

"Well I'm sorry your mission didn't go well. What can we do?"

Neil smiled in such a way that terrified the two infiltrators. "You can help get Tabitha out of the picture! Meet me in the village at the top of the mountain, and we can come up with an infiltration plan!" With this, the mutant turned around and ran, bounding up the mountain faster than Blake thought possible.

Blake turned to face Christine, who had already slipped back into invisibility. "Well, he was certainly… energetic." The cloaked assassin merely shrugged, before pointing up the mountain road and beginning to jog on, Blake in tow.

About twenty minutes later, the duo found themselves at a road block. Blake and Christine crouched behind a rock, observing from a distance. Blake saw at least a dozen super mutants, all clad in scrap-metal armor and wielding chunks of concrete and rebar, along with a single Nightkin commander armed with a massive broadsword crafted from the bumper of a car. Blake shook her head, looking at Christine's highlighted outline. "I don't think we can take them all on in combat… any ideas?"

Christine tapped the side of her helmet, revealing her face through an opening in the visor. Blake was surprised to see the bald woman smirk, throwing a cocky wink at the Faunus before closing her helmet once more and sauntering off towards the mutant defenses, skip in her step.

To Blake's surprise, Christine stopped about ten meters away from the road block, slipping out of invisibility. The assassin whistled loudly, turning every mutant head towards her. The three closest mutants immediately charged at the apparently unfazed woman. Despite the massive beings charging at her, Christine stood her ground, not moving an inch. At the moment before the first mutant impacted with Christine, however, time seemed to slow down for Blake.

As the first mutant leapt to tackle Christine, the woman stepped to the left, quickly drawing the dual swords on her back. She swung her right blade up, catching the mutant's neck and sending its head flying across the battlefield. The remaining mutants froze for a second, staring in awe at the surprise assailant. Christine flicked her wrists, sending blue arcs of electricity running up and down her blades, before slipping once more into invisibility.

Blake's IFF camera had trouble keeping up with the rapidly-moving blur that was Christine. All Blake could see was the occasional arc of electricity, quickly followed by a super mutant falling to the ground, dead. The Nightkin began to back away farther up the mountain road, but was quickly felled by a silenced .308 round to the forehead.

Blake watched as a now visible Christine walked towards her, staring at the mute assassin. "Damn showoff."

Christine only grinned, sheathing her blades with a flourish and bowing sarcastically.

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Blake and Christine continued up Black Mountain, clearing out any more mutants along the way. After a long hike and a few more road blocks, the duo halted just before reaching the mountain's flat top. Blake moved to step forward, but stopped when she heard it; rapid clicking, coming from her wrist.

Blake looked down at her Pip-Boy, only to find the device's Geiger counter flaring up. She signaled to Christine, who clambered over to where the invisible Faunus stood. Blake quickly input a few commands into her Pip, materializing an orange prescription bottle in her hand. She looked at the bottle, running a thumb along its faded ' _Rad-X_ ' label before screwing the lid off and popping out two of the dull orange pills, handing one to Christine. "Alright; lots of rads up here, so be fast."

Christine nodded, popping the pill into her mouth before running up over the mountain's crest. Blake popped the pill into her mouth, took a swig of red wine from the canteen Yang had left on her bedside table, and followed the assassin.

Blake scanned her surroundings; they were in a small village of scrap huts, surrounding a large crater. A bit farther up the mountain stood a large array of what Blake assumed to be pre-war satellite dishes. Blake crawled next to Christine, staring down at the crater. In the crater crawled a pair of the most hideous creatures Blake had ever seen.

They vaguely looked like multiple humans melted together; one dominant armless torso and head, with a horrendous meld of limbs and torsos forming its lower half. The creatures' mouths were wide open, with a trio of slime-coated, meter-long tongues snaking their way out of their maws. From her spot above the creatures' pit, Blake was glad that her helmet's gas filter blocked all scents from breaking through.

Blake looked over at Christine, shaking her head. "Alright, where the hell is our contact?"

As the words left Blake's mouth, she heard the thunderous footsteps of a super mutant coming up from behind. Blake spun around, only to see Neil headed towards the pit with a large burlap sack over his shoulder. He reached the pit, completely oblivious to the invisible duo mere feet to his left, before swinging the bag off of his shoulder and dropping it on the ground with a dull thud. He proceeded to reach into the bag, pulling out a chunk of raw meet. He threw the flesh into the pit, where it landed with a dull thud before being grabbed by one of the creatures' many tongues, pulled into the gaping maw of its waiting mouth.

Blake watched as Neil pulled more assorted chunks of meat out of the sack, throwing them all to the monstrosities awaiting their meal in the pit. After the sack was empty, Blake stepped next to the mutant, tapping him on the shoulder as she decloaked. "So, what's the plan?"

Neil jumped, reaching for a weapon before realizing who had startled him. "Oh, it's you… Don't worry; I told them there is a spy in the camp!"

Blake's jaw dropped. "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?"

"Because, if I make them think there is a spy in their midst, they will be to busy looking for the spy to look for you!"

Blake looked over her shoulder to Christine. "Is this guy serious?" The mute assassin only shrugged. Blake turned back to face Neil, shaking her head slowly. "Well, the last time I checked we ARE spies here, so…"

The super mutant slapped his face into his palm, grumbling angrily. "Oops… I's ok, they shouldn't find you until-"

"GET THEM!"

Blake jumped, looking up at the satellite buildings higher up the mountain. On the ridge of the building stood a dozen assorted super mutants, armed with everything from a spiked two-by-four to a rocket launcher.

Neil immediately made a run for the road down the hill, only looking back to yell to Blake and Christine. "JUST REMEMBER; GET RID OF TABITHA! I WILL TELL MARCUS OF YOUR HELP!" With that, the mutant made his way down the mountain, leaving Blake and Christine between a dozen angry mutants and a pair of the most hideous creatures the wasteland had ever created.

Blake and Christine immediately split up, deciding cloaking was pointless at that point. Blake went to the left, sprinting at a mutant with a large rocket launcher. As she got close to the rocket-wielder, she dove, sliding between its legs. As she reached the other side of the mutant, Blake rolled into a crouch, standing up a few feet behind the massive fighter. She spun around, drawing a silenced .45 in each hand before pulling the triggers, splattering the monster's head across the dirt ground.

Blake ran at the next mutant, catching its splintering two-by-four with the razor edge of her kukri. The blade caught the rotten wood, snapping it in half and following through into a slash across the beast's eyes. Blake shoved the now blinded mutant behind her, watching as it stumbled over the edge of the mountain, falling out of sight with an angry yell.

Blake looked up to take out the next mutant in line, but found the rest to be nothing but corpses, twitching from the electricity that Christine's blades had sent through them in their final moments. Christine half walked, half skipped over to the mutant that had been wielding the rocket launcher. She picked it up, eyeing its condition before slinging the massive weapon over her shoulder. Blake cocked her head, confused. "That seems a bit loud for your taste, doesn't it?"

Christine shook her head, imitating pulling a hood up and rocking on the balls of her feet, fists raised in an imitation of a boxer's pose. Blake thought about what the charades meant for a moment, before it clicked. "Is it for V?"

Christine nodded vigorously, and Blake could tell the cold-blooded assassin had a warm smile across her face. Before Blake could respond, she was interrupted by a loud, gargling hiss from the ridge below. She turned her head to look, only to find that the two hideous, multi-tonged creatures had crawled out of the pit, stalking the human infiltrators. Blake turned her head towards Christine. "I take left, you take right?" The assassin nodded, drawing her blades and sliding down the hill towards her prey.

Blake followed Christine's lead, drawing a pair of throwing knives from their spot strapped across her chest. She threw them, aiming for the beast's center of mass. One met its mark, sending the creature stumbling backwards in pain from the knife now embedded in its chest. The other knife caught one of the creature's three tongues, sending a glowing green fluid splattering across the ground. Blake watched as the ground around each of the glowing drops began to steam, melting away. The creature leaned its head back, letting out a wail of pain before whipping forwards, sending a ball of the glowing green fluid flying towards Blake.

Blake rolled to the left, avoiding the acidic glob by mere inches. As she left the roll, Blake drew her pistols, firing from her new position mere feet from the monster. She emptied both clips of .45 into the beast's head, sending it sprawling into the crater with a wet thwack.

Blake looked up to see Christine straddling the creature's back, a blade dug into each of its shoulders. The woman forcefully steered the crawling monstrosity towards the crater, dismounting with a backflip while dragging her dual blades upwards in an 'X' motion, sending the creature's severed head and upper chest rolling down the crater wall.

Blake and Christine made their way up the hill to the satellite array, surprised to find very little activity. Christine pointed towards a building on the outer edge of the facility, leading the way towards it. Blake reached the door, noticing the word _storage_ written on a pre-war sign hanging above the door, before entering the building behind her mute friend.

Blake looked around the room as she entered. There were rows of steel shelves, holding a broad assortment of pre-war food, ammunition, and countless other pieces of scrap. Blake followed Christine through the aisles, picking up useful equipment here and there: Ammunition, a couple of cases of _Nuka-Cola_ , and a pre-war can of preserved sardines (which Blake immediately opened and consumed before Christine could even lift a finger to stop her).

As they reached the back of the warehouse, Christine broke away from Blake, darting towards a table. Blake caught up, only to find the woman taking an access panel off of a limp robot similar in design to Caroline back at the 38. She watched as Christine worked her magic, replacing a couple of parts with spare scraps from around the room. A few minutes later, Christine snapped the access panel back into place before flipping a switch on the underside of the Robot's spherical body.

With a shudder, the robot came back to life; the engine below its spherical body sparked to life, bringing it to hover next to the duo of assassins. The robot's eyestalks focused on the two, before it proceeded to float past silently towards the door. Blake and Christine followed, blinded for a moment as they stepped into the bright sunlight. After taking a moment to adjust to the light, Blake looked up…

…to find herself face to face with the oddest super mutant she had ever seen.

It was about a foot taller than most of the mutants on the mountain, with the dark blue skin and harness around the mouth identifying the beast as a Nightkin. The thing that stunned Blake most was the creature's outfit; along with the standard scrap-metal armor of their kind, the towering mutant wore a pair of red, heart-framed sunglasses, along with a short blonde wig forced on top of the mutant's head. The mutant stepped forward, drawing a massive assault rifle from over its shoulder, taking aim at Blake and Christine. "FREEZE! You are on mutant property! Prepare to… R-Rhonda, is that you?"

Blake raised an eyebrow, confused, before the robot Christine had managed to turn back on came zooming out from behind her, stopping next to the mutant before speaking up in a robotic English accent. "Lady Tabitha! It has been 6 years, 52 days, 22 hours, 15 minutes and 54 seconds since we last spoke. Are you alright?"

The Nightkin, Tabitha, grabbed the robot, hugging it tightly. "YES! Rhonda, you are back… we must continue our journey east." The mutant turned to face Blake and Christine. "Thank you for doing this! We finally can continue our quest east…" She reached into her pouch, pulling out a keychain and tossing it to Blake. "Here; make sure to free Raul on your way out." With that, the Nightkin and her robot turned to the road down the mountain, beginning their journey and never looking back.

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With a bit of effort, Blake managed to turn the key in the rusty lock, opening the rusty steel door. Christine had gone down the mountain to pick up Liz's car from its hiding place near Neil's shack, leaving Blake to find this 'Raul' Tabitha had mentioned. Blake looked around the room, surprised to find a ghoul sitting in a folding chair at a table, tinkering with a handful of scrap metal.

The man wore a tattered green jumpsuit, with a large logo labeled _Petro-Chico_ on the back, and the name _Miguel_ written on a nametag on the front. A revolver hung at the man's hip, along with a tool belt that Blake could tell would make Ruby drool. The man looked up, giving Blake a better look at his face; despite ghoulification, the man still had a moustache that, if cleaned up, would make even Robert House jealous. He spoke up in an accent that Blake noticed, but couldn't directly name where from. "Took you long enough. So, can I go now?"

Blake raised an eyebrow, confused. "Um… what? Who are you?"

The ghoul shook his head smiling. "Sorry; I assumed anyone with the guts to handle Tabitha would be here to rescue me. Either way; the door's open, so…"

Blake nodded, stepping to the side and gesturing to the door. "You are free to leave, but I must ask; who exactly are you?"

The ghoul stood up, dropping his scrap metal project and reaching out to shake Blake's hand. "Raul Alfonzo Tejada; I was Tabitha's mechanic around here until about ten minutes ago."

Blake nodded, returning the handshake. "Blake Belladonna. So…" She gestured towards the door. "You are free to go if you want; I sure won't hold you back."

Raul stepped towards the door. "Ok then. I guess I'll just walk out into the wasteland… alone…"

Blake couldn't tell if the man was being sarcastic or not. She shrugged her shoulders, deciding to play along. _'Fine… we could use another set of hands anyway…'_ "Hey Raul… I guess you could, I don't know, come along with me if you wanted t-"

"Let me grab my tools."

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Ten minutes later, Blake and Christine found themselves sitting on the roof of the broadcast building, looking out at the view they had of the Mojave while Raul ogled over every inch of Liz's convertible.

Blake pointed towards the north at Lake Meade. "Wow… that must've been a nice view before the war." Christine nodded, yawning as she sharpened one of her blades. "I wonder if Yang would want to go out on the lake any time… a break from the chaos. You and V could come along too…"

Before she could finish her statement, Blake was cut off by a fireball, followed by a mushroom cloud on the northern edge of the lake, near what Blake assumed were pre-war boat houses. She shook her head, looking over to Christine. "Alright, place your bets now; knowing them, that was either your girlfriend, or mine."

Christine thought for a moment, before just pointing at Blake and breaking out in a gout of silent laughter.

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The trio made their way down an abandoned highway in Liz's car; Christine sat at the wheel while Blake and Raul sat in the back seat, chatting. "So Raul, tell me; what was life like before the war?"

The ghoulified mechanic shrugged, looking out the window at the desert wasteland flying by. "I don't know Boss… it was complicated. In the later years, America attempted to annex us like they had their northern neighbor." He leaned back, pulling a toothpick out of his pocket to chew on before crossing his arms behind his head. "They would've done it too, if it wasn't for the damn wall one of their less-than-admirable _Presidentes_ had built about half a century before the world bit the big one. The damn thing didn't just keep us out of the north; it sure as hell got in the way of their power armor and tanks too!" The ghoul let out a deep, hardy laugh.

Blake opened her mouth to respond, but stopped when she looked out of the window for a moment. She saw a trio of figures, one leaning against the other two for support, running across the Mojave as quickly as they could. Blake tapped Christine on the shoulder. "Pull over for a second..."

The mute woman complied, pulling the car over to the shoulder and stopping. Blake clambered out, looking down the road to see the unknown group still running north along the highway, towards the car. Blake looked closely, getting a better view of the three. There were two men and a woman; one man wore a heavy leather coat with plates of metal strapped on, with a bulky sledgehammer strapped to his back. The other man wore nothing but a white t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a set of black shades, wielding a long hunting rifle. The woman clung onto the heavily armored man for dear life, which Blake realized was because she was missing her left leg, leaving a bloody, bandaged stump just above where her knee would be. The woman was unarmed, and looked to be wearing a tattered, bloody lab coat over a dirty white jumpsuit. Every few seconds, the woman's head would twitch slightly, as if she was trying to get rid of a bug without swatting it.

Blake stepped in front of the distant trio, stopping about twenty feet from where they stood. She put her hands in front of her, showing that she was not a threat. "Hey! Are you two ok? Need some help?"

The armored man immediately did the last thing Blake expected; his hand darted to his side, drawing a slim, suppressed pistol and aiming it a Blake. "DO YOU HAVE A FUCKING GEIGER COUNTER?!"

Staying calm, Blake put her hands up, pointing to the Pip-Boy on her wrist. "Yes, I do have one, along with some Rad-Away, Rad-X, and a few Stimpacks. Do you need radiation treatment?"

To Blake's surprise, the man took aim as if to fire his pistol, but stopped when the man with the rifle swatted his arm downwards, throwing his aim off. "Dude, this is NOT the time for this! Can't you see she's trying to help?!"

The pistol-wielding man shook his head, returning the firearm's muzzle to Blake's direction. "We need to make sure they don't work with you-know-what!"

The woman shook her head between twitches, smiling bitterly as if the armored man had just suggested the most redundant thing in the world. "Look around you; we are three quarters of a fucking _continent_ away from the 'Wealth! The only SRB agents out here- no, the only people who even know what a fucking Synth _is_ out here - are us, and the Courser hot on our ass right now. I don't know about you, but this looks like our only chance of getting to New Vegas without dying, so I'm taking it!"

The armored man hesitated for a second before shaking his head and sliding the pistol back into its holster. "Ugh… fine. I knew we should've sent you south on the Rivet City route instead…" He turned to face Blake, stern expression returning to his face. "Alright; we could use some help getting to Vegas, if you're willing."

Blake nodded, darting over to the exhausted trio. She wrapped an arm around the wounded woman and threw the woman's free arm around her shoulders, helping the man lift her up more. They began to walk towards the car, where Christine and Raul were already moving to make room in the backseat of the convertible for the newcomers.

The man with the rifle looked past the woman at Blake, nodding his head. "Thanks for the help. Sorry for Tommy here being a hard-ass."

Blake shrugged, shaking her head. "I understand; we all just want to be safe out here, and you never know who you can trust. Anyway, what exactly are you three running fro-"

Blake was cut off by a loud crackle from the ridge above the road, followed by the sharp smell of ozone. She looked up at the ridge, shocked to find a group of dark figures standing there, looking down at them.

Most of the figures looked skeletal; plastic armor and robotic parts on a metal frame, holding either cumbersome white and red energy rifles, or batons sparking with electricity like Christine's swords. In the center of the group stood a tall man, clad in a long black coat and black mirror shades, holding a long-barreled plasma rifle. The man locked his gaze on the crippled woman, and even through the howling desert wind and angry swears of the three newcomers, Blake could hear the words that came out of the man's mouth as clearly as day.

"Get the woman. Kill the rest."

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 _A.N._ _: Well, that was a fun chapter to write. Sorry for the delay; Along with schoolwork, Mom made me meet with a shrink a couple of times for my apparent 'depression', which ironically kept me away from writing, which helps me keep said depression at bay (Don't worry; I'm hanging in there thanks to friends, reading, and a LOT of Smash Bros 4 after school). Along with that, I got a copy of The Witcher 3 over the weekend, so yeah… almost no work was done between last Saturday and yesterday. Anyway, time for guest reviews:_

 _*This is where I would put my guest reviews… IF I HAD ANY!*_

 _Alright than, I guess we don't have any guest reviews this time. No biggie; less editing time for me! Anyway, that's all for this chapter. As I have said before, the request for a cover artist is still in effect (Again, no money-based commissions), so feel free to PM me if you wish to discuss that. Thanks a million for reading, I love you all, and just remember; Keep fighting the good fight!_

 _-_ _DovahCourier_


	25. Chapter 25 - Boom Baby pt2

_A.N._ _: Hello Readers, DovahCourier Here! Sorry for the complications with the comments on the last chapter; FanFiction dot net can be weird sometimes. They should be fixed now. Well, without further ado: Part two of the Boomers story arc!_

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 _ **I don't own anything!**_ _ **The Fallout universe belongs to Bethesda/Black Isle/Obsidian, a nd RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth.**_

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The Tale of Dust and Sand

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Twenty-five: BOOM BABY Pt.2

Ruby looked out across the ruins of a pre-war neighborhood, shaking her head in shock at the shattered, rotten remains of homes that had once belonged to non-military family members at Nellis. The area was peppered with massive craters, all created by the Boomers' artillery, breaking the already destroyed neighborhood even more. She looked back down at _White Rose_ , loading each cigar-sized round into the rifle's oversized clip before sliding it home into the receiver with a lover's grace. She looked over her shoulder, watching as Veronica strode out of the Nellis gate, fully clad in scorched, dirty power armor…

…Followed by Yang, clutching her left arm against her body.

Ruby shot upwards, immediately darting towards Veronica. "What did you do?"

Veronica put her hands up defensively, her voice slightly distorted by the T-51's helmet. "Hey, I warned her not to scratch the paint!"

Yang raised an eyebrow, wincing as she moved her apparently injured arm too quickly. "Well you didn't need to get _in_ the armor to punch me!"

Veronica shook her head, and Ruby could tell she was grinning like an idiot inside of the helmet. "Yeah, but that wouldn't have hurt as much!" She reached into a pouch on her armor's leg, pulling out a stimpack and a pre-war candy bar. "Here ya go ya big baby…"

Yang took the equipment, administering the medicine before discarding the spent pressurized syringe and taking a bite out of the bar of chocolate. "Thanks. Now tell me, where are we going again?"

Ruby pulled up the map on her Pip-Boy, pointing at a lake to the south. "Lake Mead; we have a bomber to drag up from the lakebed."

With that, Ruby nodded towards the south, pointing through the ruins of the neighborhood. "Now, let's get going."

The group walked for a few minutes, making small talk, before Veronica suddenly froze. Ruby stopped, looking up at her power-armored ally. "What's up?"

Veronica turned towards one of the houses, breaking into a jog towards the dilapidated structure. Ruby and Yang followed, coming to a stop a couple of feet behind the armored woman. Veronica looked into the crater that took up the majority of the ruined house, letting out a shocked gasp as she did so.

In the middle of the crater laid a set of T-51 power armor, bearing the same sword-and-gears symbol as Veronica's on both shoulders and the chestplate. The only difference between the two sets (aside from the ant guts covering Veronica's boots) was the large, flashing beacon resting in the crater armor's hand, the set of glowing dog tags magnetized to the armor's chestplate, and a streaks of caked and dried blood running from the armor's midsection and from under its helmet.

Yang stepped forward, putting a hand on Veronica's shoulder. "Hey V, are you alright?"

Veronica shrugged the hand off, stepping down into the crater and kneeling down beside the fallen armor. She took her helmet off, looking up at the confused sisters standing at the edge of the crater, stern expression on her face. "Go… I'll catch up." Yang nodded in understanding, ushering Ruby away from the crater, back towards the south.

A few moments of silent walking later, Ruby and Yang were shocked to hear a massive explosion from behind them. Yang spun around, fists up and ready, only to see the remnants of a mushroom cloud drifting away from the house they had left Veronica at. Yang began to run towards the cloud, but stopped when she saw Veronica making her way towards the duo, helmet back on her head.

Yang turned, now walking alongside Veronica as they followed Ruby (who had plugged headphones into her Pip-Boy's radio) south through the ruined neighborhood. She looked up at her armored friend, a look of concern on her face. "So V... what was that?"

Veronica, staring directly ahead, shook her head. "Nothing… just someone I might have known."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "'Might have' known? What does that mean?"

Veronica looked down at her hand for a second, looking at a holotape for a moment before sliding the plastic data holder into her armor's pocket. "My 'family' is a bit… complicated, to say the least."

"Well, we have time; give me the rundown."

Veronica sighed. "Fine… While out here in the Mojave… has the term 'Brotherhood of Steel' ever crossed your way?"

Yang shook her head. "Nope, not at all… what are they?"

"To put it in the propaganda they raised me with: the Brotherhood is the Wasteland's saving grace; technology made the world the way it is now, so the only way to achieve peace is by collecting said technology by any means necessary."

"So… technophobic bigots that believe any and all technology is a threat to humanity, and therefore must be destroyed or contained?"

Veronica nodded. "Essentially… That's why I chose to be a field scribe; less time stuck underground with bigots who stand against just about everything I believe."

The group passed through the mouth of the Boomers' valley, bringing the abandoned network of Vegas' highways into view. Yang picked up a rock, throwing it for no particular reason. "I feel you; after a few things at home hit the fan, I became a bit of a troublemaker. Dad gave me two options: Either Atlas' or Vale's military school, or clean up, fly right, and try and do what I wanted with life. I decided I didn't want to sit around doing nothing; I wanted to travel, seeing the world and kicking ass along the way. So, I began training to become a Huntress."

"From what I've gathered from you four, that is considered a high title in your world."

Yang nodded proudly. "Yup; slaying monsters for a living, gaining respect, and literally spending every day saving humanity… that would've been the life." Yang looked down at her feet, slowing slightly.

Veronica placed a power-armored hand on Yang's shoulder. "Well, while the majority of Brotherhood Elders stick to the more traditional 'collect tech first, help others second' mentality, there is a variant of our beliefs from out east that is about as close to being Hunters and Huntresses that you can get here in the wasteland."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? And what would this 'variant' be called."

"There isn't really an official name, but a few sympathetic brothers and sisters here in the Mojave Chapter have come around to calling it 'The Path of the Lyon'.

Yang chuckled. "Well, that certainly sounds noble. What's the name from?"

Veronica hesitated for a moment, as if collecting her thoughts. "The first elder of the DC Chapter: Elder Owyn Lyons. He believed the Brotherhood's first duty was to protect the wastelanders who couldn't do so for themselves. With the help of some vault kid and a big fuckin' robot, Lyons' branch managed to bend the Enclave over their knee and make them their bitch. Next thing they know, DC's civilians are in love with them, seeing them as the 'white knights' of the wastes, so they begin doing work to help save the people of the wasteland instead of terrorizing them for tech."

Yang nodded. "Seems smart; the world is already a shitstorm, so terrorizing people for the few pre-war toys they have is the last thing that's needed."

Veronica threw her hands into the air. "My thoughts exactly! Hell, the Brotherhood out here in the west is so set with their ways that outsider recruitment is nonexistent, forcing us to generate the population. Thanks to that little rule, a friend of mine ended up leaving a few years back due to us not being able to… you know…"

Yang raised an eyebrow, looking up at Veronica with a smirk. "It was Christine, wasn't it?"

Veronica did the power-armored equivalent of pinching the bridge of her nose. "It's that obvious?"

"Let me put it this way… she may be mute, but the noises that come from your room assure me her tongue is still in working order."

Veronica punched Yang in the arm, sending the girl sprawling across the desert ground. "What happens behind closed doors is none of your concern."

Yang stood up. "Yeah, I get it. Anyway…" She slipped behind Veronica, yanking the fusion core out from its port in the woman's armor. "Last one to the lake buys a round of drinks!" With this, the blonde brawler broke out in a sprint in the direction of Lake Mead.

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The lake gleamed as the early afternoon sun reflected off of it's surface. Yang pointed at an ancient concrete structure on the shore; a ramp leading directly into the lake's water. "That looks like a good place to start… who's swimming?"

Yang, Ruby and Veronica looked at each other for a moment, before Ruby and Yang immediately screamed out in unison.

"Not it!"

"Not it!"

"Not … son of a bitch." Veronica groaned, realizing she had drawn the short straw of the situation.

Ruby looked down at her Pip, pointing at a spot in the middle of her map of the lake. "Alright, the bomber should be somewhere around there. You have the pontoons?"

Veronica nodded, shaking the large duffle bag strapped to her armor's back. "Yup. I should be able to head down on foot; my armor has half an hour of air in her tanks."

Yang pointed to a pre-war wooden structure roughly halfway between the group and the lake. "Maybe we can find a boat there, make the trip a bit shorter." Ruby and Veronica nodded, and the trio began to make their way south towards the ancient boathouse.

Yang approached the door to the ancient boathouse, peeking through a hole in the warped, aged wood. Besides a pair of rotten wooden sailboats and a few piles of what she assumed to be dirt and mud in the corners of the building, there was nothing of importance inside. With little hesitation, the blonde pushed the door open with a loud creak.

Yang slowly made her way into the building, _Two-Step_ clad fist up and ready. She looked behind the door, finding nothing of importance. She continued inwards, making her way all the way to the back wall, where a ruined rowboat was leaned against the dilapidating structure's wall. Yang turned around to face Ruby and Veronica, who stood watching from the open doorway. "Well, looks like you're swim…"

Veronica put a finger over where her mouth would be on her power armor, silencing Yang. "Yang, I need you to walk over here _slowly_." While Yang could tell she was trying to stay calm, Veronica's voice had an obvious tone of panic to it. Yang began walking slowly towards her worried companions, wondering what was causing their panic, when it suddenly hit her.

…The ceiling was buzzing.

Yang looked up out of reflex, immediately regretting her decision. The ceiling was swarming with massive bugs, sizes ranging from that of a cat to a large child. Each was armored with thick, black chitin plates, with translucent orange-red wings. Each had a massive stinger at the end of their thorax, roughly the size of a combat knife. Each one had a pair of demonic red insectoid eyes… all of which were locked on the blonde brawler that had wandered into their nest.

Yang opened her mouth to scream, but it was drowned out by dozens, if not hundreds, of sets of wings buzzing away as the swarm took flight. Yang threw a quick jab in the swarm's direction, rolling backwards towards the door as the shell's tiny pellets did little more than irritate the bugs more. Veronica grabbed yang by the collar and pulled her to safety, kicking the rotten wooden door shut on the swarm to buy a few more seconds of time.

Ruby drew _Blackhawk_ , instinctively leveling the pistol's sight on the door. "Open it! I have an idea." She yelled, inhaling deeply and cocking the pistol's hammer. Veronica's response was distorted beyond understanding as Ruby felt the world around her slow with _VATS_. The door opened in slow motion, and Ruby emptied the first four rounds into the front four bugs, taking each head off with a clean shot between the eyes. As Ruby lined up on the nearest bug, she squeezed her eyes closed, thinking about a single thing as she pulled the trigger back and felt the gun's recoil. _'Please work… Please work… PLEASE WOR-'_

Ruby's train of thought was cut off by a bright flash of blue light, followed by the crisp smell of ozone on the air. Ruby opened her eyes, just in time to see a trench-coated blur empty a pair of massive revolvers into the swarm of bugs, disappearing in a flash once more before the dozen-or-so now headless bugs hit the ground.

Reality around Ruby sped back up to normal speed. She instinctively replaced _Blackhawk_ into its spot at her hip, pressing a few commands into her Pip as she went. As she hit the final button, the massive industrial frame of her Auto-Axe formed in her hands, its red plasma blades already whirring up to a spinning blur. Ruby swung upwards, bisecting three of the insects and instantly cauterizing their wounds.

Yang drew her new grenade rifle, loading an incendiary round into its barrel before flicking her wrist and locking the weapon. She pulled the trigger, frowning as the flames merely washed off of the creatures' chitin shells. She slung the rifle over her shoulder, punching a nearby bug in the head with a satisfying crunch. The bugs kept coming, beginning to swarm out of holes in the ceiling and walls. "Fall back! We need a new plan!"

Ruby and Yang immediately fell back behind Veronica, who was literally punching bugs out of the air by the fistful. Veronica stumbled forward, caught in the middle of the swarm as dozens of stingers bounced off of her armor. Yang moved to run in and help, but Veronica put a hand out in protest. She turned to face the sisters for a moment, pointing towards the boat dock at the lake's edge. "RUN!"

Ruby and Yang began running backwards, firing at the few bugs that followed. Yang watched as Veronica made her way to the middle of the swarm, where the field scribe came to a sudden stop. Yang watched with confusion as an object came flying out of the back of Veronica's armor, and the woman began sluggishly wading through the swarm towards the boathouse. Yang raised her grenade rifle to fire another shell, but stopped when she noticed the object that had flown off of Veronica begin to glow. _'What the he-'_

…There was a bright flash, before a wave of heat and an impossibly loud bang threw Yang and Ruby backwards into the lake.

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Ruby's eyes flew open. She attempted to breathe in, only to be greeted with a mouthful of water. She began to thrash and panic, but immediately felt a strong grip around her midsection. She looked up, seeing through the briny water just enough to catch a glimpse of thick, golden locks of hair coming from her savior's head. A few moments later, Yang and Ruby broke the surface of Lake Mead.

Ruby immediately coughed up the water she had inhaled, holding onto Yang for support as she did. Yang swam to the concrete boat ramp, hauling Ruby onto her feat as she did so. Ruby bent over, still coughing up water. After making sure Ruby would be ok, Yang began walking towards the remains of the boathouse.

The area ten feet from the boathouse was a smoking crater. Dozens of dead bugs in various states of damage were scattered everywhere. Yang stepped towards the crater, stopping when the Geiger counter on her wrist began having a fit. She looked around, beginning to panic. "V! V, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"

Yang heard a groan from the other side of the boathouse. She ran around the crater and ruined building, only to find a smaller crater on the other side of the structure with none other than Veronica sprawled at the bottom of it. Yang scrambled into the bottom of the crater, kneeling down next to the crashed woman. She pulled the helmet off of Veronica's head, only to find here smiling like an idiot underneath.

"Whoa that was fun! I haven't blown an FC like that in years…" She looked up at Yang, looking the brawler in the eyes. "Want to go again?"

Yang shook her head, unable to do anything but laugh out of shock. "You are such an idiot sometimes, I swear…"

Veronica leaned forward, planting a quick kiss on Yang's cheek. "Yes, but I'm a cute idiot."

Yang slapped Veronica on the back of her head. "Hey! Save that for Christine… or at least offer Blake a couple of drinks and a night out before you try getting into my pan…"

"Are you ok?!"

Yang and Veronica looked up to see Ruby standing on the edge of the crater, worried expression on her face. Veronica threw Yang a wink, signaling to continue their conversation later, before looking up at the worried sharpshooter. "I'm alright, just a couple of broken ribs. Now, don't we have a plane to lift?"

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Ruby and Yang headed south along the road to Vegas. They had split off from Veronica at the edge of the Boomers' territory, deciding to head home ahead of time while Veronica handled the business end of an alliance. Yang looked down at her sister, grinning. "So, how are you and Ice Queen getting along?"

Ruby blushed, rubbing a hand behind her neck sheepishly. "Why do you ask?"

"I just want to know if I need to break any bones for you."

"WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?!"

Yang shrugged. "Weiss is a friend and all, but you are my sister; she hurts you, I break her."

Ruby shook her head, patting Yang on the shoulder. "Well rest assured that she and I are getting along perfectly fine. She… she's just perfect."

Yang nodded. "I know how you feel; Something between Blake and I just lined up perfectly, and it took nothing short of me fighting a flaming bear to help us realize it."

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what?"

Yang chuckled. "It's a long story; I'll show you the paw later. Anyway, how long from here to Vegas?"

Ruby looked down at her Pip-Boy, pulling up the map. "About half an hour's walk south until we reach the Freeside gate… If you don't mind, I need to stop by the Runners and stock back up on .45-70 before we get back."

Yang nodded. "Sure thing; I need to pick up some 40mm shells while we're at it, so w-" Yang was cut off by a loud gunshot from behind her and Ruby. The sisters immediately spun around, locking eyes on a rusty pre-war billboard advertising _Sunset Sarsaparilla_ …

…and an entire squad of Legionnaires headed their way.

Yang grabbed Ruby by the cloak, pulling her behind a rusted out car. "Fuck! What do we do?!"

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? It's just five guys; we can take them."

Yang shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. "It… it doesn't feel right, killing people. Yeah, when we need to its ok, but we could easily just make a run for it and…"

Ruby shook her head. "These are no men. I've seen what Caesar and his lapdogs are willing to do, and it makes them no better than monsters." She stood up, tapping a command into her Pip and retrieving _White Rose_. "What kind of man slaughters an entire town, throwing any survivors onto a burning pile?! Yang, I respect human life, but these people might as well be Grimm, so I will act as such and do my duty as a huntress." With a curt nod, Ruby vaulted over the rusted out car, leaving Yang confused and terrified in her hiding spot.

Ruby looked at the Incoming wave of legionnaires. _'Alright; eight targets, only two of which have actual armor… this is child's play.'_ The huntress in training took aim with her rifle, deciding to take out the squad's spirit first. She centered her sight on the man carrying a maroon flag with a golden bull, pulling the trigger. The round caught him in the heart, impacting with enough force to rip the armor around the wound off. The man fell, his blood coating the now ruined flag of Caesar.

Two heavily armored legionnaires charged first; one with a super sledge, the other with a thermic lance. The lance wielder reached Ruby faster, jabbing towards Ruby's head. Ruby raised her rifle, knocking the sparking end of the weapon away from her, into the face of the man wielding the super sledge.

The man with the sledge screamed as his metal helmet began melting onto his head. Ruby didn't hesitate, slamming the butt of her rifle into the lance wielder's face and snapping his neck. She proceeded to grab the now unoccupied thermic lance, tearing it away from the burnt man's face before slamming the sparking end home between the man's ribs.

Ruby didn't stay around to watch the results of the lance. She rolled towards the remaining Legion troops, firing and taking the head off of one of the scouts. The remaining four soldiers surrounded her; three armed with machetes in varying states of disrepair, and one wielding a pre-war marksman carbine. Ruby cycled her rifle's bolt, ejecting a spent casing before firing once more, catching one of the machete wielders in the chest with a hollow-point round.

Ruby slung her rifle over her shoulder, drawing _Blackhawk_ and firing a pair of rounds into each of the remaining machete-wielders' heads. She spun around, raising her pistol and taking aim…

…just in time to catch a burst of 5.56 rounds in the side.

Ruby fell to the ground, gasping for air. She pressed a hand against her side, drawing it away to find the appendage covered in blood. The legionnaire pressed a boot into her chest, causing her to wince with pain as he pointed the muzzle of the carbine at her forehead. "AVE CAES-"

The man was cut off as Yang flew at him, screaming at the top of her lungs. Ruby watched as she grabbed the man by the collar with her left hand, raising him into the air before punching him in the gut repeatedly, sending half a clip of explosive shotgun shells through his midsection. Ruby watched as everything below the man's gut was literally blown away from the rest of the body, and she had trouble deciding if it was the explosive shots or the furious blonde's raw punches that caused the grotesque bisection.

Yang slammed the man into the ground with _Two-Step_ , leaving the upper half of the now dead man with a massive hole through the remains of his chest. She stood up, breathing heavily as she made her way towards where Ruby lay.

Ruby had already confirmed that each round had made a clean entry and exit, which they had, before administering a super-stim and leaning back against a rock. She looked up at Yang, watching as the brawler's eyes went from a fiery crimson to their normal soft lavender. Yang crouched down next to Ruby, shaking her head. "What would Weiss do to me if you got hurt?!"

Ruby only grinned, groaning slightly from the pain. "Hey, I thought you didn't want to kill anybody…"

Yang's face turned stern. "I don't care who it is; they hurt my sister, I find them and bring them to their fucking knees."

Ruby laughed. "Well, that would work if you had left this one any legs to kneel on…"

Yang shook her head, grinning for a moment before nuzzling against Ruby's neck and beginning to sob.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Ruby walked into the _38_ 's presidential suite, making her way to the kitchen. Weiss, Elizabeth, Liz and Cass sat at the table, each one of them with a bottle of liquor in one hand, and an energy weapon in the other. Ruby leaned against the doorframe, clearing her throat to gain the chattering group's attention. "So, what's happening here?"

Weiss looked up, dropping the laser pistol in her hand onto a large pile of energy weapons behind here. "Ruby!" The white haired heiress made her way towards Ruby, throwing an arm around her lover, a massive grin on her face. "How are you doing?"

Ruby raised an eyebrow at Weiss' behavior for a moment, before the freshly-opened

bottle of Vodka at Weiss' spot at the table caught her eye. "Pretty good; we managed to get the Boomers to back us once we need them. What did you all do?"

An awkward smile crossed Weiss' face for a moment, before Elizabeth stood up, gaining Ruby's attention. "We went…" The veteran wastelander hiccupped, swaying slightly. "…shopping. Yes, shopping… the Van Graff family down at the Silver Rush was having a sale, and you can never have too many energy weapons in your arsenal, so…"

The woman was cut off by the crackle of Liz's Pip-Boy radio coming to life. _"Mr. New Vegas here with breaking news out of Freeside; the Silver Rush Energy Weapon Emporium has been robbed. No reported casualties, but there is one confirmed non-critical injury, and the store's entire stock was cleared out. Reports describe a team of four, at least three of which were believed to be wearing a Pip-Boy…"_

Before the broadcast could even finish, Ruby slapped Weiss on the back of the head, before crossing he arms and looking at the heiress with a look of fury. "Explain; now."

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 _A.N._ _: Well, that was a fun wrap up to the Boomers arc. Don't worry; V will give Yang and Ruby a couple of new toys from their new friends later. Anyway, sorry for the delay; my school is making us take another practice SAT, so studying has taken priority of time._

 _I would like to thank my friend and fellow author '_ _DocHoliday0316'_ _for beta-reading this chapter, and if anyone else here is a fan of the Witcher 3, he has a great RWBY/Witcher 3 crossover that is currently in progress: '_ _White Wolf and Red Hood_ _'._

 _Well, that's all for this broadcast. Next chapter is picking up where we left off with our assassins and Raul, but feel free to PM/Review with ideas for what to have after that. Thanks again for reading, I love each and every one of you, and just remember to keep on fighting the good fight!_

 _-DovahCourier_


	26. Chapter 26 - Transcontinental

_A.N._ _: Hello Readers, DovahCourier here… Wow it's been too long since I've written those words. I am SO SORRY for the delay. I've been busy with schoolwork, family life, and another story (more on that later,) but don't worry; I've not been completely inactive on this story! I've been, with the help of a few amazing fellow authors, planning out the rest of this story in a bit of detail. I am proud to say that we have planned the rest of the story in the best way possible, so everything from this point to hell breaking out at the Hoover Dam is lined up and ready to go!_

 _Anyway, without further ado, here is the conclusion to the cliffhanger at the end of chapter 24!_

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 _ **I don't own anything!**_ _ **The Fallout universe belongs to Bethesda/Black Isle/Obsidian, a nd RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth.**_ __

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The Tale of Dust and Sand

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Twenty-six: Transcontinental

Blake rolled to the left, narrowly avoiding a laser bolt. She drew her pistols, taking aim at the robotic figures on the ridge above. She opened fire, catching one of the skeletal figures in the knee with an armor piercing round. She looked over her shoulder, yelling to the trio waiting in the road. "Get to the car!"

The man in the sunglasses took the weight of the wounded woman over, nodding in Blake's direction. "Tommy, go raise some hell."

The man in the armored leathers nodded, drawing his sidearm and dropping to a knee next to Blake. Blake looked sideways, catching a glimpse of the man's firearm. It was obviously very well taken care of, with everything from its grip to its silencer polished until it shone. The only sign of the weapon firing was the man's finger pulling down on the trigger, followed by a slight incline in the barrel's direction.

The three remaining skeletal figures slid down the ridge, batons sparking. Blake holstered her right pistol, drawing a war club from her hip in its place. She looked down at the weapon; a two foot long piece of hand carved wood covered in tribal paints, capped off with a solid steel horse head with a short spike where the creature's mane would be. Blake rolled forwards, swinging her weapon. It caught one of the machines in the side of the head, sending ceramic plating scattering across the desert ground before the machine toppled over.

Blake fired a burst of rounds into the next skeletal robot, clustering her rounds in the center of mass. The machine shrugged off the first few shots, but froze when a shot hit an exposed tube. Immediately, the machine began to twitch erratically as a blast of freezing gas was expelled from the hole in the tube. The robot stumbled backwards, its chest beginning to glow a violent orange. Blake acted on instinct, planting a hard kick in the center of the machine's chest. The robot stumbled backwards, knocking over the last of its allies before sending them both up in a large explosion.

Blake looked up at the ridge, finding that the man in the dark trench coat was still there. She leveled her pistol on the man's head, pulling the trigger, only to have the empty clip drop out from the pistol's grip. She dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding a neon blue laser bolt. Blake looked over her shoulder, yelling back to the car. "CHRISTINE, SNIPER SUPPORT!"

Blake watched as the man on the ridge slung his bulky laser rifle over his shoulder, drawing a pair of batons similar to those of his fallen comrades. He slid down the ridge on the heels of his boots, coming to a stop a few feet from Blake. The man looked her in the eye, pointing a baton in her direction. "You are interfering with something that is far beyond your comprehension, girl. Now stand aside and let that stolen property…" He pointed at the wounded woman, who was being helped into the back seat of the car. "…be returned to its owner."

Blake smirked, shrugging. "Well, if you insist…" Blake stepped to the side…

…narrowly avoiding a .308 round as it came flying through the air past her head.

The round impacted the man's shoulder, forcing him to drop one of his batons. He reached for the rifle on his back, only to have another shot catch him in the wrist, blowing his hand clean off. The man darted backwards, using his free hand to tap a panel on his now handless forearm. He brought the arm up to his face, speaking into it in that constant monotone voice. "This is X6-88, requesting immediate withdrawal from combat…"

Blake drew her kukri from its shoulder sheath, darting at the man. She swung hard, planning to catch the man in the throat, only to have the blade pass through empty, ozone-scented air. _'Fuck… where did he AGH!'_ Blake's hands shot up to her ears, attempting to drown out a sudden, high-pitched noise coming from her Pip-Boy. She lowered her left arm, looking down at the device for any sign of the cause of the malfunction. All she could see was the radio screen, set to the far low end of the spectrum. _"SIGNAL HIJACK COMPLETE; PROGRAM WITHDRAWL INITIATING…"_ Suddenly, the high-pitched noise ended, replaced briefly with what sounded like a classical sonata before blurring back into the usual jazz instrumental Blake kept the device tuned to.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Blake turned to face the two men sitting next to her in the back of the car. "So, who exactly are you people?"

The man in the leathers looked over to the man in the sunglasses, who only nodded. The leather clad man looked back at Blake. "We are part of the Railroad; a group that is devoted to helping Synths escape the Commonwealth."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "Synths? Commonwealth?"

The man in the sunglasses pointed to the one-legged woman, who had fallen asleep in Christine's lap in the passenger seat while Raul drove. "Synths; synthetic beings created by a group of scientists merely known as 'The Institute'. They are treated as property; we do what we can to give them the freedom they deserve."

Blake nodded. "An honorable cause. Now, where did you say you are from again?"

The man in the sunglasses pointed at Blake's Pip-Boy. "Can I see that for a moment?" Blake nodded, extending her arm. The man grabbed the device, inputting commands rapidly. "Wow, this is one of the 3000 models! I haven't seen one of these since my trip to DC… here ya go!"

Blake pulled her arm back, looking down at the screen. The map was zoomed out farther than she had ever needed, with two highlighted points; one showing her current location, and the other one showing a city over two thousand miles to the east, on the continent's coast. Blake's eyes widened in surprise. "Well… That is certainly a bit farther than I've traveled around."

The man in the leathers nodded, looking over at the man in glasses with slight irritation. "Yes it is. _This guy_ over here met someone from all the way out here, and he offered to set up connections with their group for another escape route…"

The man in the glasses put his hands up defensively. "Hey! How was _I_ supposed to know their camp got hit by a deathclaw before we could make the handoff? _You_ are the one that suggested we start heading west and find these 'Followers' ourselves!"

"Yeah, that's because Glory would've gunned down _both_ of our asses if we didn't get E9 out of the 'Wealth in one way or another! And _you_ are the one that let the car get stolen by raiders in Colorado!"

Blake decided to change the subject before things turned violent. "So… I don't think I caught your names…"

The man in the leathers reached across to shake Blake's hand. "The name's Tommy, this is UMPH!"

The man in the sunglasses covered Tommy's mouth. "That's classified information. Now, would you mind if we asked the same question of you?"

Blake shrugged. "The name's Blake, that's Raul" The ghoul in the driver's seat raised a hand, waving. "And that's Christine." Blake pointed at the woman in question, who had also fallen asleep in the passenger seat.

The man in the sunglasses nodded. "Alright. Now, any idea how far it is to Vegas?"

Blake pointed out of the car at the Freeside sign that had just come into view. "About three seconds. Where are you guys headed?"

Tommy spoke up. "We're tracking down the headquarters of a group known as 'The Followers of the Apocalypse'. Before he got eaten, D- I mean, _my friend here's_ contact said something about coming from a fort around here…"

Blake nodded. "I know where we're going. Raul, take a left up here if you would…"

Raul nodded. "You got it Boss!"

The car took a left onto one of Freeside's side streets. Blake pointed ahead to the Old Mormon Fort a couple of blocks away. "There's your fort. Now Raul, if you could…"

Before Blake could continue, the streets were filled with the sounds of roaring engines. Blake looked down the road, only to see a jet black _Highwayman_ shoot past at full speed, followed closely by a sprinting set of dark blue power armor. Blake shook her head, signaling for Raul to roll forward. The car moved about an inch before a pair of motorcycles flew past, laser and plasma bursts firing from the drivers towards the car and power armor.

Blake turned to look at the others. "Alright, either we follow that and see what the fuck is going on…" There was a dull thud of an explosion in the distance. "Or we drop off E9, head back to my place, and have a drink while agreeing we've been shot at enough already for one day."

The man in the glasses raised a single finger. "I'll have a whisky on the rocks, if you don't mind."

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Yang stretched, walking into the top-floor penthouse apartment. She had just walked past the kitchen, deciding it would be best to avoid whatever Ruby was screaming at the top of her lungs at the others about, deciding instead to head upstairs for a well-deserved nap. She entered the living room, only to be greeted by an unexpected sight.

The first thing she saw was the booze; a bottle of wine sat on the coffee table, next to two empty bottles of scotch, a few beers that she didn't recognize as local, and what looked to be a margarita glass with salt that was literally glowing a nuclear green. Next, she saw a person wearing a mechanic jumpsuit, facing away from her…

…Touching her power armor.

Yang shot forward, fists raised. "Hey, what gives?" She reached the man, taking in more details as she went. She noticed he was a ghoul, similar to those she and Weiss had encountered at the rocket site weeks ago. He had one arm holding up the breastplate of the suit, while the other held a wrench, tightening an internal spring. "Alright mister, you better have one hell of an explanation for why you're touching my baby…"

The man spoke up in a raspy voice, not looking away from his work. "Because, _Niñita_ ; the primary compression spring was looser than a mother of octuplets. One or two good hits and this plate would've flown off." The man lowered the plate, wiping the grease from his hands onto his jumpsuit before extending a hand. "The name's Raul. You must be Yang."

Yang nodded, shaking the ghoul's hand. "Yup, that's me… how did you know…"

Raul pointed across the room. "Your _amante_ told me all about you."

Yang followed the ghoul's finger, locking eyes on Blake, sitting near the window, talking to a couple of men. Yang grinned, nodding to Raul before making her way over to where Blake sat. She jumped over the back of Blake's seat on the couch, landing in her lap as gracefully as she could manage, following up with a quick peck on Blake's cheek. "Cheers love!"

Blake jumped in surprise, looking down at Yang with a glare before looking back up at her guests. "As I mentioned earlier, this is Yang. Yang, meet Tommy and…" She let out a sigh, saying the next sentence with sarcastic air quotes. "… _'Classified'_."

Yang looked over at the two guests. One man, clad in a leather coat covered in steel plates, waved casually. The other man, wearing a simple shirt, jeans, and sunglasses, gave a half-salute with a smile. "We should get going anyway… where did you say the garage is?"

Blake pointed at the elevator. "Bottom floor, take a left… House said you can take the slightly rusted _Panther_ at the close end of the bikes."

Tommy stood up, merely nodding before turning to head to the elevator. The man in the glasses, however, stopped for a moment, grabbing his friend by the collar. "We would just like to thank you again for your help; we wouldn't've made it without you."

Blake shook her head, waving it off. "No need for that; I was just doing what was right…"

Before Blake could continue, Tommy reached around and pulled the large hammer off of his back. He handed it to Yang, grinning. "Blake mentioned you are a bit of a heavy hitter, so consider this a gift from her…"

Yang looked down at the hammer, grinning. Most of the handle was replaced with a long, thin fuel tank, with a tube leading up to the hammer's head. The back half of the head was what appeared to be a small thruster. Yang gave the weapon a swing, pulling down on a trigger on the handle as she did so. Immediately, the thruster let out a burst of flames, sending the hammer double-speed through its swing arc.

Tommy smirked. "Yup; consider that a little taste of the Commonwealth for ya. Anyway, we'll be going… thanks again!" With that, the man headed for the elevator."

The man in the sunglasses clapped a hand on Blake's shoulder, leaning in to whisper. "Thanks again. Now just remember…" He slid a piece of paper into her pocket. "If you ever find yourself in Boston, feel free to drop in for a donut and some coffee…"

The man stepped towards the elevator room, smirking. Blake looked up. "Wait! I never got your name…"

The man shook his head. "Sorry darling, that information is classif-"

"Deacon! Hurry up, or Des will have the two of us running the Rivet City route through the Glowing Sea for the next decade!"

Deacon sighed, waving again at Blake and Yang. "Hasta La Vista, amigos!" The man turned around, making his way to around the corner to the elevator.

Blake pulled the note out of her pocket, looking at it in detail. It was a simple pre-war flyer, advertising a new _Slocum Joe's Coffee Shop_ branch in Lexington, Massachusetts. She flipped it over, only to find a small drawing of a square-shaped gas lamp, with an atom where the flame would normally go.

Blake put the note back in her pocket, looking up at Yang. "Well, how was your day?"

Yang shrugged. "It was normal; got some new guns, fought a couple of bugs, watched V blow herself up…"

Blake smirked, remembering to collect payment on her bet with Christine later. She wrapped an arm around Yang's shoulder pulling her towards the door to their room. She looked at Yang, wide amber eyes meeting Yang's soft lavender ones. "Well, I think we both have earned a bit of rest, if you don't mind…" Yang blushed for a moment before nodding, following Blake towards room. As they passed the power armor station, Blake looked over her shoulder. "Keep up the good work Raul! Feel free to go work on the bike at the end of the row downstairs if you want…" With that, she closed and locked the bedroom door.

Yang looked over Blake's shoulder at the closed door. "Wait… that's _my_ bike at the end of the…"

Yang was cut off by Blake biting down softly on her collarbone as she ran a hand through the blonde's hair. Blake looked up at Yang seductively. "Exactly…" Without waiting for a response from the blonde, Blake locked lips with her lover, moaning with pleasure as Yang's scent of citrus and honey overwhelmed her.

Yang pulled Blake with her to the bed, pulling the ebony haired beauty's duster off as she landed on the water-filled mattress, losing themselves in the gold and black satin sheets. Yang moaned as Blake nibbled softly on her lower lip, strengthening the Faunus' natural taste of licorice and black cherry, with traces of red wine from earlier. Blake reached past Yang, breaking the kiss for a moment as she reached under her pillow. Yang raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

Blake smirked. "Oh, it's nothing…" She grabbed Yang's wrists, slowly pulling them towards the headboard. "Just a little something I found in the casino floor's security office…" Yang heard a soft metallic click, giving the noise little attention. She moved to raise her arms to embrace her lover as tightly as she could…

…Only to find her hands cuffed around a bedpost.

Yang grinned, hiding her slight anxiety while she shook the cuffs more. "Alright babe, very funny…"

Blake sat up, pulling off her armor, shirt, and tank top, leaving nothing hidden as Yang ogled her beauty. She leaned forward, stopping inches form Yang's ear. "Look at the sunset, little dragon…" Yang looked out the window, catching the beautiful sight of the sun going down over the Sierra Madres in the distance. "…Because that's the last light you're seeing until sunrise…"

With that, Blake clicked the button on her hip-mounted stealth boy; giggling with pleasure she slipped into invisibility, preparing to spend all night with her favorite woman in the world.

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Ruby tapped her foot rapidly, crossing her arms as she looked around the kitchen. There were duffel bags overflowing with energy weapons, ranging from small pistols, mines, and grenades to a massive, chrome-plated Gatling Laser with glowing green veins along the barrels. "I'm not going to ask again; explain NOW!"

Weiss recoiled slightly, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly as she looked at the others for support. "Well… It all started this morning before breakfast…"

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 _A.N._ _: Well, let's hope that I NEVER go that long without posting again. I am SO SORRY for the delay; the last month has been a little rough for me, but I'm pretty sure things are looking up from here on out. I would like to directly thank every one of you who has not abandoned this story yet!_

 _I also have been working on another story, a Skyrim/RWBY Crossover by the name of '_ _Of Chaos and Dragons_ _', so feel free to look at that one if either of those catches your fancy (well, if you're reading this you are probably a RWBY fan… fuck it, never mind). I will be alternating chapters between the two stories when it comes to work time, but both stories will definitely be worked on unless I say otherwise._

 _I am sorry to say that I have forgotten who I have and have not PM'd for reviews, so please PM me if you really want to talk story, or anything else; I am not just an author, but a fellow human being (at least that's what my doctor says), so feel free to just talk to me like one! I will hopefully get back into the habit of responding immediately starting w/ this chapter._

 _Next chapter will be the long hinted-at heist chapter, so be ready for that! Thank you all again_ _ **SO MUCH**_ _for hanging in there while I got my shit together, thanks for reading, and just remember; keep on fighting the good fight!_

 _-DovahCourier_


	27. Chapter 27 - Take What You Can

_A.N._ _: Hello Readers, DovahCourier here! Sorry, between family life, friends, and the SATs coming up, Junior Year is currently making me it's bitch. Without further ado, here it is; the next chapter of Dust and Sand._

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 _ **I don't own anything!**_ _ **The Fallout universe belongs to Bethesda/Black Isle/Obsidian, a nd RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth.**_ __

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The Tale of Dust and Sand

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Twenty-seven: Take What You Can, Give Nothing Back

Weiss walked into the kitchen, yawning as she stretched. She looked around the room, observing her surroundings. Elizabeth leaned against the counter, a mason jar filled with rum and Nuka Cola in her hand, her long purple and blonde hair pulled back into a bun. Cass sat at the table, feet kicked up and arms behind her head. Liz was leaning on Cass, half-asleep as she ran a hand through the fiery red hair of the whisky-drinking cowgirl. Weiss sat down at the table, leaning forward on her elbows. "Good morning!"

Elizabeth nodded, sliding a mug of coffee across the table to Weiss. "Mornin' sunshine! Now, let's get down to business…"

As Elizabeth said this, Cass elbowed Liz in the ribs, jolting the sleepy Courier back into reality. Cass's absent-minded grin was gone, replaced with a serious expression as she looked Weiss in the eye. "Alright, first off; do you know why Liz here even found me back at the Mojave Outpost a few weeks ago?"

Weiss nodded. "Wasn't it because the caravan you ran got lost, or…"

Cass laughed, shaking her head. "Hell no; they got hit, hard… and we found out who did it."

Elizabeth pulled the tablecloth away, revealing a mixture of documents. The largest was a map of Freeside, with markings surrounding a large weapon shop in the corner of town. Next to the map was a torn poster with a photograph of Cass;

 _ **Wanted**_

 _Rose of Shannon Cassidy, aka 'Cass'_

 _Any and all information to be given to Gloria Van Graff at the Silver Rush_

 _Reward for Capture; 5K Dead, 50K Alive_

Weiss shook her head. "Why would they want to get at Cass?"

Liz sighed. "Apparently the Van Graffs are helping the Crimson Caravan eliminate all competition from here to Shady Sands. Cass and her father's caravan were on the list of 'competition'."

Cass interjected, obviously angry. "So we're doing the best thing we can do; we're getting back at them."

Weiss chuckled. While she hated it, she had seen this a million times before back at home; her father would get stabbed in the back by one of the SDC's many, _many_ rivals, and he would retaliate with equal and opposite force. "Alright, what's the plan? Blackmail? Manipulation? Exploitation?"

Elizabeth busted out laughing. "No, darlin; nothing along those lines... for this, we're thinking something a bit more… direct." With that, she pulled a knife out of her boot and planted it hard in the table, right where the _Silver Rush_ sat on the Freeside map. "We're robbing the bastards."

Weiss stared for a moment, before a venomous smile curled onto her lips. "A heist, eh? Where do I sign up?"

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Weiss waved at Blake and Christine as they left the room, immediately flipping the tablecloth over as soon as they were in the elevator. The table now had dozens of documents covering it, ranging from drafts of plans to escape routes to material lists.

Elizabeth put her hands on the table, shaking it. "Alright, let me get one thing straight; no killing. We are trying to prove a point, and it's kinda hard to make a corpse regret an action. So, ironically, I bought these from the _Silver Rush_ yesterday…" The woman reached under the table, pulling out a bag and pouring it onto the table. There was a set of laser pistols, each of which had a small dial on the back. Elizabeth picked one of the weapons up. " _This_ little devil is a Compliance Regulator; designed for use on protesters during the war, it's not quite enough to kill, but it stings about as much as a horny radscorpion."

Weiss nodded, clipping one of the weapons to her hip. "Alright; what's the final plan?"

Liz pointed at the map on the table. "Alright; first things first, you and I show up and cover the door-duty job they've been wanting for a couple hours. That'll make them think we're just normal mercs looking for caps."

Cass buzzed in. "Then, after they tell you two to come looking for my ass, Elizabeth here helps you idiots haul me in. We lower their guard, catch them with their pants down, and get everything into the car before anybody can even lift a finger."

Elizabeth nodded, standing up to leave the room. "Yup… back in a sec, I need to go get something…"

Weiss nodded, turning to face Cass and Liz. "Alright; once we're in there, we're going to need a way to keep them from panicking and shooting... any ideas that don't kill anybody?"

Liz tapped a few commands into her Pip-Boy, materializing a set of grenades on the table. "These are pulse grenades; pull the pin and throw, and these bad boys shock everything within twenty feet. If we drop one or two, we can probably bring them to their knees…"

Cass nodded, obviously seething with fury towards the Van Graffs. "Yeah, but if it fails, I'm blowing the balls off of the bastard that decided to-"

"NO! We do this using the oldest trick in the book. It's only three words long, and it almost always works…" A loud thumping filled the room. Weiss looked towards the doorway, and her jaw nearly hit the floor as she caught sight of what was standing in the doorway.

The armor was massive; a good foot and a half taller than any of the powered sets Yang and Veronica had used. The shoulders were rounded, looking like a massive insect, a look that was only embraced by the bug-like helmet and eyes. The armor was painted a deep blue, with yellow highlights leading up to a large _13_ written inside of a cog design on the left breast, painted over the word _X-01_ stenciled on the chest. The eyes glowed yellow, contrasting the arcs of blue electricity sparking across what looked like tesla coils sticking out of the shoulders.

Elizabeth stepped forward, shaking the entire room as she did so. "Nothing beats good ol' fashioned _shock_ and awe!"

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Weiss and Liz walked through the streets of Freeside. Weiss watched in wonder as a pair of children who were little more than skin and bone sprinted past, chasing a rat with chunks of pipe. She tapped a few commands into her Pip-Boy, drawing _Lucky_ before taking aim at the rat and firing. The rat skidded to a stop, barely even having time to bleed before one of the children was hard at work skinning it. The other child hesitantly walked up to Weiss, a twinge of fear on his dirt-covered face. "Um, thanks lady…"

Weiss grinned, dropping to one knee and tapping her Pip-Boy again. "No need to thank me…" A pair of Nuka Colas appeared in her hands, which she quickly passed to the excited child. "…Just being a friend." The kid turned to run away, but stopped for a moment. He reached into his pocket, pulling something out and forcing it into Weiss' hand before running off.

Weiss looked down at the item in her hand. It looked like a cherry red toy laser pistol, with a dirty, cracked display screen on the back, just above the grip. Weiss shrugged, storing the toy in her Pip-Boy to give to Ruby later. She stood up, only to see Liz staring at her. Weiss raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Liz shook her head, beginning to walk towards their destination. "Nothing; kindness is just a rare commodity in the wastes…"

Weiss shrugged, following Liz closely. "Well, it's also a bit of a rarity where I'm from too, so I like to be charitable where I can be."

Liz clapped a hand on Weiss' back, grinning. "Well that's something I can respect. Now, where is- oh, here we are!"

Weiss looked up. In front of her and Liz stood a two-story, pre-war building. About a third of the top floor had collapsed inward, crushed by the weight of the ancient neon sign that read ' _Silver Rush Gambling Hall_ '. The front windows of the building were filled with energy weapons on racks, ranging from small laser pistols to a massive weapon/backpack combination that Weiss assumed weighed more than she did.

Liz stepped forward, stopping in front of an armored man standing in front of the door. The man put a hand out, stopping her. "Halt. What is your business?"

Liz put on a winning grin. "Good morning sir! We are here about the door guard job opening…"

The man nodded. "Alright, leave your weapons here…" He kicked a meal crate next to him. "…and head on inside. Talk to Gloria for details."

Weiss hesitated for a moment, looking up at Liz. Liz subtly nodded, tapping a few commands into her Pip-Boy before placing her katana, the _Medicine Stick_ , and her 5.56 revolvers into the steel crate. Weiss followed suit, dropping _Lucky_ , her Shishkebab, her RCW, and her plasma pistol into the container.

The two walked into the building. Weiss immediately picked up on a couple of scents that had been relatively common in the Schnee Manor back home; cigar smoke and brandy. The room was naturally dark, only darkened more by the layer of smoke that seemed to cover the area. There were entire racks of weapons, ammunition, and grenades, covering almost every wall in the room. In the center of it all stood a small group of people, consisting of a woman and man standing on one side of the room, and a pair of armored men holding a very frail man between them on the other.

The woman stepped forward, getting in the frail man's face. "This is the last time I'm going to ask; where. Is. The. Money?"

The man was shaking in fear. "I… I'll get it to you soon, I swear... I'll…"

The woman laughed, looking over to the man on her side of the room. "Ha! You hear that, brother? He'll 'get it to us soon'! Well, the ting about the Van Graffs is…" She turned towards the bound man, an expression of fury on her face. "…We don't do _soon_." She grinned once again, watching the man begin to panic more. "…Ash the bastard."

Weiss gasped, covering her eyes as the massive man stepped forward with a laser rifle. She winced as she heard the panicked man's anguished final scream, followed by the sharp smell of ozone and the sound of a pile of ash hitting the floor.

Weiss followed Liz closely into the central section of the shop, avoiding the large pile of ash that was now being swept into the corner of the room. Liz reached the apparent siblings at the main desk, looking directly at the woman. "I hear you guys have been looking for a couple of mercs to work the door for a few hours a day…"

The woman nodded, toying with a plasma pistol in her hands. "Yes we have. Are you two applying?"

Liz nodded, clapping Weiss on the shoulder and pulling the heiress out of her stupor. "Yup! We're for hire."

The woman stepped forward, extending her hand towards Liz. "Gloria Van Graff. This is my brother Jean-Baptiste. We will be your bosses for the next few days."

Liz nodded, shaking Gloria's hand. "Just call me Ms. Blue. This is my partner Ms. White." She patted Weiss on the shoulder once more.

Gloria nodded. "Alright then; every merc has their reasons, and I'm not one to judge. Talk to Jean for details, and have a nice shift."

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Weiss looked down, admiring herself. The light plates of white combat armor, while a bit worn out, still managed to look nice over her white suit, light blue shirt, and red tie combination. The only thing that she didn't like was the obnoxious ' _Silver Rush_ ' logo on every plate of the equipment. She shrugged, dismissing the minor problem and getting back to the task at hand…

…Doing absolutely nothing.

Weiss and Liz had only encountered two people at the door; a man in a suit with a large bag jingling with caps, and a drunken idiot with less caps than a bottle of Nuka Cola (Whom they had let in and dismissed, in the same order).

For the door guard job, their gear had been returned and supplemented with _Silver Rush_ grade equipment. Weiss looked at the weapon in her hands, admiring it. It was similar to her plasma pistol, but was slightly bulkier and much more ergonomic. There was a small yet usable scope on top, with the words _'Plasma Defender'_ Written in cursive along the length of the optic.

Liz elbowed Weiss, gesturing towards the far end of the street the store stood on. "Looks like we have another customer…" Weiss followed the woman's hand, seeing what she was talking about. A tall, burly man was approaching them. He wore a large merchant coat, with pockets so full that they were apparently bulging.

The man attempted to walk past Liz and Weiss, only to have the courier extend an arm and stop him. "What's your business here, sir?"

As the man opened his mouth to speak, Weiss was immediately hit with the scent of at least six different alcohols. The man had a slight twitch in one of his eyes, and had his fist tightly closed around what Weiss assumed was a Jet inhaler. "I have some… some persona… personal business with the Van Bastards… I mean the Van Graffs."

Liz shook her head, scowling. "Sorry sir, but you are in no condition to enter the _Rush_. Please come back when you've sobered up, or after you-"

The man grabbed Liz, knocking the weapon out of her hand and locking his arm around her neck, holding her in hostage position. Weiss raised her Defender, leveling its sights on the man's head. "Let go of her, NOW!"

The man shook his head. "I wouldn't do that if I was you, little missy…" he said, raising his free hand and opening it…

…Revealing a detonator resting in his palm, with a wire running down his sleeve.

Weiss began to shake, her aim falling off completely. She looked at Liz, hoping to get something out of the Courier. The woman only nodded subtly, mouthing a few words to Weiss. " _Take the damn shot."_

Weiss shook her head, the weapon dropping from her hands. The man grinned wildly. "Oh… bad idea, kid." With that, he moved his thumb to hit the detonator…

…only to have the digit catch the edge of a knife.

Liz flipped the man by his arm around her neck, raising the knife she had pulled from his own belt. She threw the knife, severing both the detonator wire and the rest of the man's hand. She drew her katana, stepping on the man's chest as she stabbed downward, going through an eye straight to the brain.

Weiss keeled over, losing her breakfast on the street. Liz Darted to her side, pulling the girl's ponytail out of the way as she finished. Weiss dropped to her knees, gasping for air. She began to shake, but stopped when she felt Liz's arm wrap around her side. She felt Liz's face stop a breath away from her cheek. "Alright Weiss, I need you to calm down, _now_! If _they_ see you like this, our story goes out the window, quickly followed by the rest of the plan. If that happens, Cass goes in guns blazing and more people _will_ die. You got it?"

Weiss nodded, taking a deep breath. "Alright. Let's get back to work before-"

"What the FUCK just happened out here?!"

Weiss and Liz spun around, only to find Jean-Baptiste standing in the _Silver Rush_ doorway. Liz stood up straight. "This man attempted to force his way into the establishment with explosives. We handled the situation as needed."

Jean nodded. "Alright, I'll have the boys clean him up. Anyway, the boss has another job for you."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what could that be?"

Jean smirked, reaching into his back pocket. "Now tell me, what do you two know about _Cassidy Caravans_?" With this, the man drew out a wanted poster with Cass's picture on it, handing it to Liz.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

The group stepped out of Elizabeth's car, leaving it hidden in an alleyway a few blocks from the _Silver Rush_. Elizabeth shook her head, and Weiss could tell that the woman was grinning like an idiot underneath her massive set of armor. She pulled Cass's handcuffs, doing her best to make the haul look real while not breaking the false lock on the shackles. "Alright girls, remind me; once inside, what's the plan?"

Weiss smirked. "Have them hand the reward over before they even lay a finger on Cass, than break her chains and grab everything we can."

Liz nodded from her spot on the other side of Elizabeth's towering figure. "Yup. Remember Cass, no bloodshed; we are getting back at them, not sending them under."

Cass grumbled in agreement. "Ugh, FINE. You didn't need to take away my gun, though…"

Elizabeth laughed, shaking Cass with a massive hand. "When was the last time you saw a prisoner _keep_ their weapon? Anyway, we need to make this look legit, so…" She whacked Cass across the back of the head, dazing her, before tossing her over her shoulder. "…sorry about this, darlin'. Don't worry cowgirl, nothing a shot of your pa's moonshine won't fix later."

Liz and Weiss stared at her, shocked. "Mom, don't you think this is a bit extreme?"

Elizabeth chuckled. "Yeah, but how do you think I felt when I saw my cub in the back of a car with my best friend's only child, going at it like-"

Weiss laughed out loud as Liz lost her air of composure, blushing uncontrollably while she stared at Elizabeth. "What does THAT have to do with anything?!"

"She didn't ask permission from me, therefore-"

"For your information, we already had something going on before Marcus hauled us up the mountain to meet you, so… wait, WHY THE FUCK WOULD I NEED YOUR PERMISSION TO-"

Weiss put a hand over Liz's mouth and Elizabeth's speaker plate. "Alright, that's enough mother-daughter bonding time." She pointed to the _Silver Rush_ , which stood a mere block away. "We have a heist to execute."

Weiss held the door open as Elizabeth made her way into the building with Cass, Liz following close behind. The group walked into the center of the parlor, dropping Cass onto her knees in front of Liz. Liz cleared her throat, causing echoes across the apparently empty parlor. "Alright bosses, we got her. Where are you?"

A door in the back of the room opened with a loud crack. Weiss' view darted over to the doorway, her jaw dropping as the room's inhabitants walked through.

Gloria Van Graff stepped in first, holding a bulky plasma pistol much like her own. Directly behind her was Jean-Baptiste, carrying the largest energy weapon Weiss had ever seen.

The frame was masterfully crafted with a well-polished shine, with some of the larger flat sections covered in beautifully maintained dark wood panels. The center of the apparatus consisted of three massive round laser barrels, all spinning around a central green-glowing axis. There was a fusion core, similar to that in the back of Elizabeth's armor, sticking out of the rear section, along with a thick power cable running back to a massive backpack that Weiss could see was powered by at least six extra Fusion Cores.

Gloria caught sight of Cass, and immediately started to chuckle, ignoring the others in the room completely. "Ah, miss Cassidy. Tell me… do you know why we took your caravan down?"

Cass coughed, spitting and hitting the woman's shoe.

Gloria's eyebrow began to twitch as she looked down at the weapon in her hand, making a show of toying with it. "Alright Cowgirl, listen here. We've bought out or snuffed out every caravan between the dam and the Boneyard. We won't let the child of some drunken, run-down wasteland bartender make a fool of us! Now, let's get this over with, shall we?" She leveled the weapon in her hand…

…Only to find eight feet of Power-Armored wasteland warrior standing in the way. "Reward: Double the poster amount, all caps, _now_."

Gloria was taken aback for a moment. "Oh, and there's a set of balls on this one." She looked over at Liz. "Alright Ms. Blue, tell me; who's the titan with a pair the size of New California?"

Before Liz could react, Elizabeth stepped forward, grabbing Gloria by the collar and raising her three feet into the air with one hand. "I'm the best friend of that 'drunken, run-down wasteland bastard' whose daughter just grabbed a gun."

Gloria tilted her head. "What?"

Before Gloria could react, Elizabeth stepped to the side, clearing way for Cass to fire the laser pistol that had been waiting on the back of Elizabeth's armor. As Gloria hit the ground, stunned, the others drew their weapons and took aim at both Jean-Baptiste and the guards that had just come rushing in. Cass stepped forward, planting a foot on Gloria's chest as she broke the fake cuffs off. "Alright you cunts, here's the plan; you load every cap, NCR dollar, and weapon into duffle bags and drop it right here, and Gloria here gets to keep her _fucking_ head. Understood?"

Jean-Baptiste hesitated for a moment, before nodding and signaling for the guards to comply. The massive man stepped forward towards Elizabeth, shaking his head. "You know you just made some VERY powerful enemies up in Reno, right?"

Elizabeth chuckled as Jean mentioned Reno. Weiss watched with interest as Elizabeth stepped forward, placing a hand on the barrel of the massive gun in the man's hands. "Don't worry, I've dealt with worse. Now tell me…" She reached up, unclasping her helmet and clipping it to her belt. "…Are Jet and post-war pornography still the lifeblood of that backwards scumhole, or have you evolved from animals yet?"

Jean-Baptiste Van Graff, one of the meanest, toughest men in Freeside, took a step backwards, dropping his heavy weapon onto the quickly growing pile of loot in the middle of the room before walking away from the power-armored veteran wastelander with a look of fear on his face.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

"Well folks, it's been great doing business with you!" Liz laughed as she strapped the last duffle bag to Elizabeth's back, leading the group towards the _Silver Rush's_ door. "Now, do the Mojave a favor and mosey on back to New Reno. If we see you in our town again, we'll m-AGH!"

Liz fell to her knees, gripping her left side and wincing. Weiss looked across the room, catching sight of a furious Gloria Van Graff, arm still extended and holding a smoking laser pistol.

Weiss pulled a grenade off of her belt, pressing the button and tossing it underhand into the room. Before anyone could react, the room, now bare of energy weapons, was filled with blue light as arcs of electricity shot out from the grenade. The Van Graff siblings fell to their knees, hair sparking and limbs twitching as their bodies were hit with a wave of electrical energy.

Cass pulled Liz up, pulling her arm around her shoulder. "How bad is it?"

Weiss looked down at Liz's side, wincing when she saw the wound. The bolt had only grazed her side, but had burnt a massive hole straight through her armor and blackened the skin with a third degree burn. Liz saw the wound, laughing as she shook her head. "Eh, That's nothing compared to what a couple of the Madre's ghouls could do. Now, judging by the two pissed off crime bosses twitching on the floor, now would be a good time to run."

Everyone nodded, following Weiss and Elizabeth to the car's hiding spot down the street. Elizabeth reached across the driver's seat, hitting a button on the dashboard. The car's trunk opened, leaving enough room to pile half of the loot into the vehicle. Cass helped Liz into the backseat, taking off her own flannel and tying it tightly around the wound on the Courier's midsection while she stabbed a Super-Stimpack into the woman's side. Weiss jumped into the driver's seat, placing her new Plasma Defender in the passenger seat. She looked out the window, nodding to Elizabeth. "Well, that went better than planned…"

Elizabeth chuckled, placing the helmet back on her head. "Yup! Nothing like kicking a little sense into some idiots while getting some new toys in the process. Now, let's take it slow up Main Street so we don't draw too much-"

Before Elizabeth could finish her sentence, the alleyway behind _Silver Rush_ was filled with the roar of multiple engines. Suddenly, a small fleet of assorted pre-war motorbikes came rolling out from the shop, all riders clad in Van Graff combat armor and holding an energy weapon.

Elizabeth shook her head, pointing in the direction of the Strip. "Drive! I'll catch up!" Weiss gunned the engine, hoping that the car handled like the limo she and Winter had borrowed when she was fifteen. Immediately, the engine's satisfying roar was met with an equally satisfying speed as it shot forward towards the thick of Freeside.

Weiss looked in her rearview, ignoring the _'objects in mirror are losing'_ comment to catch view of Elizabeth. The wastelander was sprinting at a very high speed for her age, even with the power armor assisting her. Steam was coming out of the armors joints, along with slight bursts of energy from the X-01's custom vents on the legs. Weiss watched as Elisabeth tossed a pair of pulse grenades backwards, stunning and halting three of the bikes following them.

Liz smirked, looking out the window in a painkiller-filled haze as the car tore up the streets of Freeside. Suddenly, Weiss felt a knee dig into the back of her seat as Liz jumped, scrambling to look out the back window. "Go back!"

Weiss was taken aback. "What is back there?"

"I swear I just saw my car at that crossroads!"

Weiss shook her head. "Cass, would you _please_ keep your hallucinating girlfriend from kicking my seat again? It is highly appreciated."

Cass nodded. "You got it, Ice Queen… Fuck, they're gaining on us!"

Weiss looked in the rearview once more. Sure enough, the bikes had left their power-armor clad ally in the dust, and were quickly gaining. Cass grabbed her shotgun off the floor, loading a pair of shells and taking aim. Weiss swerved, looking back at the woman. "Are you NUTS?! I thought we said nothing lethal!"

Cass smirked, aiming once more. "Just watch, sweetheart…" With that, the redhead cowgirl held down the trigger and rapidly pumped the slide on her weapon. In rapid succession, the motorcycles came screeching to a halt…

…their engines sparking from the EMP shell impacts.

Weiss shook her head, smiling. "Well, you could've told me that you weren't going to kill them…"

Liz chuckled, interrupting Cass's response. "Yeah, but then we wouldn't've seen the look on your face!"

Weiss threw an icy glare at Liz, before caving in and breaking out in laughter along with her.

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Weiss looked down, still avoiding Ruby's angry glare. "So, that's how it all went down…"

Ruby stepped forward, glaring down at Weiss as one would to at a dog that had shredded a rug. She crossed her arms sternly, invading Weiss' personal bubble to get a point across. "Alright, do you have anything to say for yourself?"

The other three women stood up, silently evading the furious teenager on the way out the door.

Weiss considered it for a moment, before reaching under the table and grabbing the most full of all of the duffle bags. "Um… happy late birthday?"

"There's nothing in that bag that could make me any less- OH MY GOSH!" Ruby squealed as she opened the bag, revealing a pair of massive weapons. On top sat the heavy Gatling-laser Jean-Baptiste had been holding, the words _'Sprtel-Wood 9700'_ written in fine silver on the side of the frame. Underneath the massive weapon and its backpack sat the most beautiful non-bullet rifle Ruby had ever seen.

The rifle had a smooth wooden stock, seamlessly attached to the central firing apparatus. The receiver consisted of a sideways-mounted port for a fusion cell, with a heavy arm for locking in said power source. Instead of a standard barrel, the weapon had a reinforced metal rod that ran the length of it, with a long row of magnets on top and underneath the rod. A tripod was folded on the bottom of the weapon, with a long-range scope mounted slightly to the side of the receiver to compensate for the over-the-shoulder bulkiness of the weapon.

Weiss looked up at Ruby with a slightly pouty look on her face. "So, is all forgiven?"

Ruby attempted to look angrier than she actually was. "Ugh… it was done with good intentions for Cass. Ugh, alright; you're forgiven… under one condition."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what could that be?"

Ruby chuckled. "In bed, I get to be on top for a whole month."

It took all of Ruby's strength not to fall over laughing at the look of both fear and arousal on Weiss' face after her statement.

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 _A.N._ _: Well readers, I am sorry again for the delay. I try not to be late like this, but having one's laptop blue-screen in the middle of class TWICE IN A MONTH tends to throw a wrench in any writing or schoolwork time. Junior year is being a bitch, and I sadly have hand to put a bit more time into SAT prep than into fun writing time._

 _Alright, I have something big to bring up. I have the next couple chapters (A Ruby/Boone sniper mission, a couple of semi-fillers, and the attack on Caesar's Fortress) all planned out, but I want to talk to you guys about how to go on the semi-last leg of the tale after that. By 'talk', I don't mean I just want reviews; I want readers who are willing to PM back and forth a little bit, helping brainstorm ideas and hopefully help jumpstart my brain if I get writer's block. External help is very, VERY helpful, so I really hope to receive Reviews and/or PMs from those of you whom are interested enough to have full conversations on the future of the tale._

 _On a small side-note, I deleted the unneeded update chapters so everyone can shut up about those!_

 _Anyway, that's all for this chapter. Have an amazing day, and just remember; keep on fighting the good fight!_

 _-DovahCourier_


	28. Chapter 28 - Death from a Distance, Pt1

_A.N._ _: Hello Readers, DovahCourier here! Um… I'm tired, insert witty comment here._

 _Wow… it's been a whole year… an entire fucking YEAR! That's 4 seasons, 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8760 hours, 525600 minutes, 31536000 seconds, or roughly 1/10 of the time between Elder Scrolls games. At first, this started as a school assignment… my literature teacher and I got into a yelling match about how any of the subjects we were writing about would ever help me to write. He dared me to do something myself without a rubric, and that's where the first three chapters of this came from! Who would have known it would hit this point… 218 amazing (mostly) reviews, 165 followers, 127 favorites, and a very large number of views that I can't exactly check right this second. All I can say… All I think CAN be said… is thank you all. This is for you!_

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 _ **I don't own anything!**_ _ **The Fallout universe belongs to Bethesda/Black Isle/Obsidian, a nd RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth.**_ __

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The Tale of Dust and Sand

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Death from a Distance, Pt. 1

"Weiss, wake up…"

Weiss groaned, turning slightly under the covers before dismissing the sound she had heard as a dream.

"Weiss…"

Weiss quickly realized she wasn't dreaming. She flipped over, covering her head with a pillow and letting out an irritated grunt.

"Babe… time to wake up…" This one was accompanied with a light shove on Weiss' shoulder.

Weiss threw the pillow in the general direction of the voice. "Ruby, I still can't feel my legs from earlier, so if you would PLEASE give me ten minutes to wake up before begging for another round, that would be just amazing!" With this, the now irritated heiress buried her face into her one remaining pillow. Weiss closed her eyes, finally getting comfortable once more…

…Just as Ruby crashed down on top of her. "WAKE UP!"

Weiss shot up, shouldering Ruby off of her in the process. "ALRIGHT, I'M AWAKE! WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" She looked at Ruby, expecting to see the red-haired girl clad in little-to-nothing, on her knees and asking for another round in the sack. Instead, she was pleasantly surprised to find her lover fully clothed, wearing her vault suit and cloak.

"Morning, Weiss!"

"Ruby? What do you…"

Ruby put a hand over Weiss' mouth, smiling. "Don't ask, just get dressed and meet me on the roof." With that, the crimson-haired huntress made a dart for the door, leaving Weiss alone in the room.

Weiss stretched, throwing the covers off. She looked out the window, gazing down at the New Vegas Strip below. The lights were still on for the most part, illuminating the darkness of early morning with the glow of sin city. Gamblers, little more than little ants from Weiss' view, wandered through the streets in varying states of drunkenness.

Weiss swung her legs over the side of the bed, standing up and making her way over to the dresser. She picked up a few assorted tools that Ruby had left scattered across the dresser, placing them back on the girl's workbench before opening the dresser for herself. She picked out a silvery gray suit, matching it with a cranberry red tie and white button-up shirt.

Weiss looked at the full-body mirror against the wall, taking in what she saw. Her hair was much shorter than it had been when they had arrived, cutting off about eight inches below the shoulder. Her hands were rough, covered with small burns and marks. She had long given up on maintaining makeup, instead just maintaining herself as well as she could.

Weiss reached up to pull her hair into its normal side-ponytail, stopping halfway through the motion. Instead, she pulled it all behind her head, tying it off in a normal ponytail with a hair tie. _'I'm not a child anymore'_ she thought to herself. _'It's time to grow up a little.'_ With that, she smiled at the sharply dressed woman in the mirror, heading for the door.

Weiss looked around the living room, surprised at how quiet it seemed. In the two or so weeks since Yang and Ruby's excursion up to the Boomers' camp, there had been little to no calm on the floor, as there was always either a dog barking, a robotic maid complaining about stains on the two hundred year old luxury couch, or one of the floor's two pairs of women doing what seemed to be their best to destroy as much furniture as possible. Weiss smirked at that last thought, pushing everything to the back of her mind as she walked past Yang and Blake's door to the elevator.

The elevator dinged as Weiss walked out into the cool night air. She looked around, expecting Ruby to be sitting alone on one of House's AA lasers waiting for her. Instead, she saw something completely unexpected.

Ruby had managed to haul a table all the way up from one of the floors below, on which was a nice looking breakfast. Two plates were set, covered in hot food, with a candle in the center being lit by Ruby's robot. The two dogs sat at Ruby's feet, Roxie breathing softly while Scrap managed to snore through his metal jaw. Ruby sat up, a few beads of sweat making their way down her forehead. "Um… Good morning, Weiss…"

Weiss chuckled, crossing the distance and sitting down in the chair that Ruby had stood up to pull out. Ruby sat down as well, relaxing a bit. Weiss smiled, attempting to put Ruby at ease. "Ruby, this is amazing! If I may ask, what is the occasion?"

Ruby blushed, rubbing the back of her kneck sheepishly. "I… um, well, it's been about a month since we, well… you know…" The girl panicked, stuffing her face with a fork of scrambled radscorpion egg.

Weiss choked on her drink, realizing what day it was. She slammed her glass down, spilling water as she frantically tried to look presentable. "Happy anniversary! That's today? I swear time flies when you're… you know…" Weiss casually leaned on one elbow, table manners briefly lost while covering up the fact that she was kicking herself in the head for forgetting the date.

Ruby smirked, reading Weiss like a book. "You forgot too, didn't you?"

Weiss' head hit the table right next to her meal, the facad of calm gone. "Yes…" She said, embarrassed tone seeping through the muffling caused by the tablecloth.

Ruby laughed, reaching across and patting Weiss on the head. "It's ok… anyway; I did bring you up here for a reason…" She said, smirking.

Weiss immediately looked up at Ruby, an inquisitive look on her face. "And what could that be?"

Ruby stood up, grinning as she reached under the table and pulled out a long package. "Well, I tried this one out, and sadly… well, I just don't get along with weapons that don't spot lead." With that, she opened the package.

In front of Weiss was a beautiful rifle. Unlike most energy weaponry, this one had a traditional wooden stock, leading into a large central apparatus holding a standard microfusion cell in its side. The barrel was a very high caliber, with large metal rings wrapping around it at equal intervals. A scope was smoothly integrated into the main section, with no noticeable way of removing it. The stock had a small heart carved roughly into the wood, with a snowflake and a rose entertaining inside of the heart.

Weiss picked up the weapon, noticing it was considerably heavier than it looked as she stumbled to avoid dropping it. She looked back up at Ruby, smiling. "Ruby… it's beautiful! But…" She looked down at the heavy rifle helplessly. "How the hell do I use this thing?"

Ruby laughed, clapping a hand on Weiss' shoulder. "Well than, that's why I'm here!" She reached under the table again, pulling out _WhiteRose_ and slinging it over her shoulder. "Come look at this…"

Weiss followed Ruby across the roof. Ruby stopped at a spot between two of House's large defense guns, where a bedroll and a couple of pillows had been set up. The red-haired markswoman pointed to a spot in the distance. Weiss squinted, barely able to make out a few small dots hovering far off of the roof's edge. "Ruby… what are those?"

Ruby smirked, grabbing Weiss' shoulder and pulling her down onto the mattress. "Those, my dear Weiss…" She grabbed Weiss' rifle, unfolding a bipod from its hiding spot in the foregrip and planting the weapon between the two girls. "…are your first targets. Now, follow my lead."

Weiss allowed Ruby to move her into a left-handed position to fire the rifle. Ruby guided Weiss' hands, locking her left one around the rifle's grip, and the other firmly on the foregrip. She nudged Weiss' head slightly, lining it up with the sight. "Alright, just breathe in and take aim."

Weiss inhaled, moving the rifle slightly until she saw her target; a red and white bullseye, painted on the side of a limbless and eyeless Mr. Handy unit. Ruby leaned in, whispering to Weiss. "Don't worry, it was fried already. All I did was paint and turn the engine on."

Weiss nodded, slightly relieved. She finished lining the shot up, placing her crosshairs right on the target. Ruby reached around, her form pressed tightly against Weiss as she rested a hand on top of Weiss' trigger hand. "Alright, on my mark. Three… Two…"

*BANG*

The rifle kicked, catching Weiss off guard. The weapon shot out of her hands, going straight upwards…

…and slamming the solid metal scope into Ruby's face.

Ruby rolled sideways off of Weiss, gripping her face and groaning. Weiss immediately got up, pulling Ruby into a sitting position. "SORRY! Are you ok?"

Ruby shook the shock off, surprising Weiss with a sudden laugh. "Never better, babe, never better…" She stood up, picking up the rifle and handing it back to Weiss. "Keep on practicing, and try not to shoot your foot off while I get an ice pack." With that, she leaned in, pecking Weiss on the lips before turning and heading for the door.

At the elevator, Ruby was surprised to find Boone. "Ruby… you have a moment?" He asked.

Ruby shrugged, stepping into the elevator with him. "What is it?"

"Liz has a job for us."

"What is it?" Ruby asked, intrigued.

"Just a bit of basic recon to the southwest; word of some Legion activity to the north of…"

"I'm in." Ruby responded immediately, not even giving the man a moment to respond before stepping onto her floor and heading to get her gear.

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Ruby looked down from the ridge, smirking. "What's the plan?" She asked, looking over at Boone for orders.

Boone's eye never left his scope as he responded. "That depends; what do you see?"

Ruby looked through _WhiteRose_ , counting off targets stationed at the ruins of a pre-war ranch house. There were at least fifteen legionnaires in light scout gear, armed with little more than scrap metal machetes or chunks of concrete and rebar. Along with them, there were a few troops wearing either coyote or nightstalker pelts on top of their armor, with what seemed to be Stealth-Boys clipped to their hips, and blades in much better condition. "Alright, we have just over a dozen regulars, as well as a few of those spies you mentioned. I think we should keep moving for now, unless… wait."

Boone raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"They have someone tied up…" Ruby pointed down at the mouth of the canyon the legionnaires were stationed near. More troops were funneling out, with a chain of prisoners tied to each other in tow. Each prisoner was clad in a leather jacket and jeans, with assorted furs and helmets scattered among the group.

Before Ruby could respond, she heard Boone slamming a clip of ammunition into his rifle. "New plan, kid. Get them free, as quickly as we can."

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Why? They look like they're just raiders."

Boone took aim, again not looking at Ruby while he spoke. "I… I have a few things to make right." With that, he opened fire.

Ruby peeked into her scope in time to see the guard nearest the prisoners' head explode. She took aim at a cluster of confused Legion scouts, aiming at the center of the group and firing. The explosive .50cal shot impacted, scattering the now dead legionnaires in all directions. She cycled _WhiteRose's_ bolt, leveling her aim on the forehead of one of the spies and firing. The shot managed to pierce his skull cleanly before exploding on the ground behind him, sending his body ragdolling forwards.

Ruby looked back to the prisoners, only to find them ducking behind a large boulder. She gave a rough head count, estimating about two dozen of the rough looking men and women. She also noticed the pile of dead Legion bodies surrounding them, attributing it to Boone. "Alright, you've got them for now, but they're pinned under cover."

Boone tapped Ruby on the shoulder. She looked up, surprised to find his rifle slung over his shoulder, replaced with a combat knife and a 9mm pistol. "Cover me; I'm going in." Before Ruby could object, the man began heading towards the chaos below.

Ruby traded out her clip for one of incendiary rounds, not wanting to catch Boone in an explosion. She slammed the new clip in, cycling the last unused explosive round out and catching it in her teeth. She took aim, immediately firing at a Legion scout rushing to intercept Boone. The round caught the man in the center of the chest, throwing his limp body backwards.

Ruby cycled the bolt, firing at legionnaires as they got too close to Boone. Ruby scanned the area, looking for more targets. She reached the mouth of the canyon, freezing at the sight of what was in her scope.

A large group of legionnaires came stomping out of the canyon. Unlike the now dead troops, these men were clad in heavy armor, ranging from welded together scrap metal to salvaged chunks of power armor. They carried heavy weaponry, from blood-coated chainsaws and sledgehammers to heavy duty SMGs and carbines. Ruby noticed each and every man was covered in blood, with assorted chunks of clothing… assumed to be from other members of the imprisoned group… tied to their armor and weapons like trophies.

Ruby dumped the empty incendiary clip, reaching for the one of explosive rounds. She looked at the light clip, realizing that the only explosive round left was the one she was biting down on like a cigar. She grabbed a clip of armor piercing rounds from her belt, flicking the topmost shot out of the clip and replacing it with the explosive one before loading the clip into her rifle.

Ruby took aim at a legionnaire close to the center of the group; a Neanderthal of a man, with a scrap metal gladius in each hand. Ruby inhaled, blinked once, and fired. The round detonated, killing her target instantly and disturbing a few nearby troops, but otherwise not affecting anything.

Ruby panicked, slipping into VATS. She targeted a handful of the troops, firing at will. Four armor-piercing rounds impacted with the heads of Legion troops, making very little difference in the group. She cycled the last spent casing out of her gun, taking aim once more. Before she could pull the trigger, Ruby felt a rush of warm air to her right, followed closely by a flash of blue light and the smell of ozone.

Ruby looked to her right, shocked at what she saw. A figure was laying in firing position less than two feet from her, clad in a heavy hooded trench coat and hat. Ruby followed the figure's arm, looking at what they were holding…

…and her jaw hit the ground.

The rifle was massive; at least six feet in length. It stood on a tripod that Ruby assumed was strong enough to hold up a car. The small portion of the stock that Ruby could see past the mysterious figure held the sheath for a large combat knife, along with another clip of ammunition that made Ruby's .50cal rounds look like ammo for a handgun. There was some kind of secondary equipment mounted on the far side of the receiver, with heavy duty coils running from the receiver all the way to the end of the barrel. Ruby realized the noise in her ears wasn't ringing… it was the rifle, humming as it warmed up for something.

"Cover your ears."

Ruby quickly clapped her hands over her ears without a second thought. As she did so, each coil along the length of the barrel began to buzz with power, small arcs of electrical energy jumping across them. Suddenly, the end of the rifle exploded with the force of a grenade. Despite covering her ears, Ruby's ears rang from the thundercrack of firepower. She looked at the group of legionnaires, only to see a small number of wounded troops…

…Scrambling to get away from a smoking twenty-foot crater in the middle of the canyon mouth.

Ruby looked back to the mysterious ally, only to find a pair of items on the ground; a smoking ammunition casing the size of a tall double-shot glass, and a sparking, blackened fusion core.

Ruby looked back through her scope, quickly taking down the few stragglers that the massive shot had missed. She than looked down at the rock the prison chain had hidden behind, glad to see Boone cutting the group free. She watched as an older, moustache-clad man wearing a horned helm stepped up to Boone, extending a hand to shake it. Boone accepted the handshake, Nodding at something the man said before returning a few words.

Ruby sat up from firing position, cleaning off her rifle while waiting for Boone. She ejected the half-empty clip of AP rounds, exchanging it for a few normal rounds. She frowned when the clip hit a bump going in. She looked into the receiver from the clip's input. She swore, flipping the safety on before sticking a finger into the receiver, pulling out a sliver of a shattered brass shot casing. She looked inside again, frowning when she realized the weapon would require a much more detailed set of tools to repair from the apparent misfire. She shrugged, storing the rifle in her Pip Boy and replacing it with one of her newer toys.

The carbine had been an accidental pickup; Yang had ripped it out of the hand of the Legionnaire that shot her sister on the way home from the Boomer's camp, shortly before blowing the man in half. She hadn't realized she carried the weapon home until she dumped it on Ruby's workbench. Ruby had taken the weapon, claiming it as her own. She had managed to up the caliber from a tiny 5.56 to a .308, at the price of a smaller clip. The Legion-issued wooden stock had been nearly shattered from Yang's deathgrip, forcing Ruby to replace it with a carbon fiber one. The scope had been removed, replaced with a reflex sight. The barrel, replaced for the new caliber, stopped roughly an inch out of the main casing, capped off with a silencer. The entire body was black, with a few key components and the sight's lights colored a deep red.

Ruby looked her newest toy up and down, loading a small, well-oiled clip of AP rounds and making sure the small dial above the clip eject was set to 'semi-auto', and not 'panic mode'.

Ruby looked up, surprised to find that Boone had already arrived at the top of the ridge. A few new blood stains covered his shirt and the butt of his rifle's stock, but besides that he seemed perfectly fine. "So, what's the situation?"

Boone smirked, sitting down and pulling his rifle out to clean. "Well, Liz wanted us to investigate Legion activity down here, so I'd say our work is done for now."

Ruby grinned, retrieving a pair of celebratory Nuka-Colas from her Pip-Boy. She tossed a plain one to Boone, before using her teeth to pull the cap off of her bottle of _Victory_. She took a swig, enjoying the citrus flavor of the orange-tinted drink as it hit her belly. "So, what was the deal with the prisoners down there? You seemed to know one of them…"

Boone shook his head. "No, I just…" He did something that Ruby would never expect; A single tear began to run down Boone's face. "I was paying them back, for previous actions of mine."

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Have you ever heard of Bitter Springs?"

Ruby was about to open her mouth to respond 'no', but stopped when she felt her forearm begin to buzz. She looked down at her Pip-Boy, surprised to find the screen displaying the Vault-Tec mascot casually answering a rotary phone. Confused, Ruby pressed a button to see what would happen.

A small, rusty hand radio appeared in Ruby's lap. It took her a moment to realize it was the one that Ranger Jackson had provided her as a reward for assisting to take down the Legionnaires in Nipton. The device's speaker was on full blast, surprising Boone and Ruby.

" _-I REPEAT, ALL RANGERS IN THE AREA GET THE HELL DOWN HERE TO THE OUTPOST; WE HAVE AN 'ALL HANDS ON DECK' SITUATION."_

Ruby recognized the voice of Ranger Ghost speaking as the message looped. Without hesitation she jumped up, storing the radio and beginning to march south, Boone following close behind.

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Three hours of walking later, Ruby and Boone arrived at the Mojave outpost. By this point, the sun was far overhead, causing the shadow under the massive statue to be cut short. Ruby immediately noticed a difference since the last time she had been there; there wasn't a single caravan in sight. In their place were a few dozen pre-war trucks, loaded to the brim with NCR soldiers. The troops' equipment ranged from simple fatigues and service rifles, all the way up to what looked like gutted out power armor and Gatling Lasers. Ruby and Boone reached the main office, opening the door and heading in.

Ruby immediately noticed NCR footmen sitting on nearly every available surface in the main room. The hallway leading to the Rangers' offices was blocked off by a pair of heavies, one holding a super-sledge, and the other a minigun. Ruby and Boone stepped forward, only for one of the heavies to put an arm in their way. "Sorry, no civilians allowed; Rangers or NCR only."

Ruby mover her cloak slightly, showing the Ranger pin she had clipped on. "Honorary Ranger." She said, attempting to mask her slight fear.

The man let her through. Ruby looked back, catching glimpse of Boone flashing his dog tags at the troops before joining her. The two walked down the hall, stopping at the Rangers' office, and stepping in.

Immediately, Ruby could feel how tense the air was. A trio of men stood with their backs to the newcomers; two troops in MP uniforms, and a heavyset older man in an officer's outfit. On the other side of the desk were four rangers in full armor; Jackson sitting forward, elbows on the table, Ghost leaning against the wall, lit cigarette in her teeth, and two helmeted rangers standing at attention.

The heavyset man slammed his fist on the table, apparently not hearing the two newcomers. "FOR THE LAST TIME YOU SMUG BASTARDS, THIS IS AN ORDER!"

Ranger Jackson shot out of his chair, standing almost a foot above the man. "I DAM WELL KNOW THAT SIR, BUT WE RANGERS DRAW THE LINE BEWTWEEN 'TAKING ORDERS' AND 'SLAUGHTERING FOR NO REASON'!"

The man straightened his tie, breathing deeply. "That's it; hand me your radio. I am contacting your superior at Camp Golf."

Jackson slid the HAM radio across the desk. The man picked up the receiver, tuning the dial to a frequency apparently memorized. The radio crackled for a moment, before picking up a signal. _"Hello?"_

"Yes, this is Commander McCormack of the 1st Heavy Platoon. I demand to speak to the Ranger in charge over there."

The voice on the other end chuckled, before speaking up once more. _"This is Chief Hanlon… you just woke me up from my afternoon nap, so this better be-"_

McCormack began speaking immediately. "I am here with orders from the President himself that your troops at the Mojave Outpost are blatantly refusing to follow."

Hanlon took a moment to respond. _"And what would those orders be, sir?"_

McCormack reached into his jacket, retrieving a folded up document. Ruby looked over his shoulder, noticing that it had a wax seal in one corner, as well as a few very formal looking signatures. "'By order of the President of the New California Republic, all Ranger units are to begin immediate action in the district of Vegas known as 'Freeside'. Units are to move in and discretely remove all who have opposed NCR operations, including the 'Kings', the 'Followers of the Apocalypse', and any civilians that resort to violence.' The orders couldn't be clearer, yet your men…" Ranger Ghost coughed loudly, cracking her knuckles. "…and women have blatantly refused to follow orders."

The radio crackled. _"Well, I don't know how you fat bastards back west do things, but out here we Desert Rangers have a few things that we never resort to. We always put the life of another in need before ours, even if it would mean our demise. We fight to clear the wastes of scum who would dare try and pray on the weak. We have marched across this sand-filled hellhole for over two hundred FUCKING YEARS. I was there when we signed that damn agreement with your pathetic 'Ranger Corps.' We've put up with your orders since '71, doing our best to follow them while staying loyal to our own causes. But this is it… This is the last straw."_ A few clicks and beeps could be heard on the other end. _"THIS IS TO ALL DESERT RANGERS OUT THERE LISTENING. It has happened; the NCR has crossed a line that we cannot follow. This is a call to all Desert Rangers, as well as anyone who is done with how the NCR is running us; The Bear is in the Scorpion's nest, repeat; the Bear is in the Scorpion's nest. You know what to do."_ The radio clicked off.

McCormack stood there, stunned. Ranger Jackson stood up straight, pulling his revolvers out from under his coat. He smirked, looking McCormack in the eye. "Well, it looks like our brief spurt with the NCR is done…" He leveled the revolvers on the man's head. "… and it's time to show this bear that the scorpion can sting."

With that, he pulled the triggers.

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 _A.N._ _: Well, it's been a while! Sorry for delay; was finished about three weeks ago, but family stuff and SAT prep got in the way of editing and posting. The same things as last time stand; anyone who wishes to start up conversation on the story (or just about anything else), feel free to PM me and I'll respond as quickly as I can. Thank you all SO much for reading, and I hope to get a chapter out a bit sooner next time (Junior year is about to start winding down, so I may be able to focus more on writing between now and Summer). The next chapter is a fun idea a friend and I had; time for team Freezerburn to go see what they can do with Freeside and the Strip. Thanks again and just remember; Keep on fighting the good fight!_

 _DovahCourier_


	29. Chapter 29 - Death From a Distance Pt2

_AN_ _: Hello Readers, DovahCourier here! Well… Where do I start? The job? The prep for finals? The really bad relationship? The reboot of my other story (Shameless self-promotion)? The full weekly Pathfinder campaign that I actively GM with friends? The few (hundred) hours of Borderlands 2 (yes, I know I'm late to that train, but who cares)? Wait… I know where to start!_ _Sorry!_ _Life has been about as densely packed as a… fuck, I'm too tired for analogies right now… insert your own thing that's densely packed. You get the point, hopefully. Summer has just started for me, and I'm only working weekends for the time being, so (between Gunzerker rampages), I shall be writing a bit (by 'a bit', I mean a metric fuckload) more! Thanks to those of you who have been patiently waiting for me to get off of my ass (well, only to sit down again and write)! And thank you to those who have PM'd with me for months now, talking ideas and just becoming friends in general. Now, onto the next chapter…_

 _Yes, I know I said this one would be the first part of Yang/Weiss taking on Vegas… more on that at the end. Now; let's see some Rangers raising hell, shall we?_

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 _I do not own RWBY or Fallout: New Vegas (or Fallout 2). Those belong to Rooster Teeth, Bethesda, and Obsidian (and Black Isle Studios)._

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The Tale of Dust and Sand

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Death from a Distance Pt. 2

Ruby's heart was pounding as she ran down the hill, weaving between centuries-old cars. She flipped the _Blackhawk_ 's cylinder out, sliding a quick-loader from her suit's pocket and loading the large AP rounds into the revolver. She flicked her wrist, the cylinder clicking into place with a satisfying click. She turned, slowing down as she aimed a shot. The short reflex scope focused in on a terrifying sight.

Soon after Ranger Jackson had blown out the brains of the round-gutted NCR official, sirens had sounded in the facility and down the highway. The Rangers ushered Ruby and Boone out of the building in a hurry, firing shots at the nearest NCR troops before they could fire first.

Then the heavies showed up.

One Ranger, whose name Ruby hadn't even learned, was caught in the side of the head with a melon-sized ball of plasma, melting everything above the neck right off. Ruby could only watch as Ranger Jackson grabbed the revolvers out of the dead man's holsters, followed closely by his dog tags and a grenade off his belt. Jackson bit down on the grenade's pin, ripping it out and tossing it in the direction of the plasma bolt without a second look before ushering everyone downhill.

Ruby shook her head, snapping back into reality as she looked at her target. The eyes were cold and blank, nothing more than pieces of tinted bulletproof glass. The armor hung from his form loosely, but was still intimidating as he lumbered forward, a massive Plasma Caster aimed in the Ranger party's direction.

Ruby fired, aiming right between his eyes. The round missed, instead hitting the disabled lamp on the side of the gutted T-45 helm. The lamp exploded off in a shower of glass and metal, leaving the trooper unhindered. She fired the next four rounds, emptying the cylinder and leaving only scratches on the plates of metal. The man raised his Plasma Caster, the prongs at the end of the device beginning to glow green.

Ruby suddenly had the breath knocked out of her as an arm grabbed her, throwing her into the air. Ruby landed roughly, realizing quickly that she was slung over the shoulder of a Ranger. She looked down, catching a glimpse of the word _'Ghost'_ embroidered into the back of the ranger's coat.

"What the hell are you thinking? It'll take a lot more than that to take down a heavy…" Ranger Ghost scolded, still carrying Ruby like a child.

"I don't know! It's better than doing nothing!"

Ghost chuckled, letting Ruby down. "You got spunk, kid. I like that. Now, keep moving!"

Ruby nodded, running ahead of the woman to the front of the pack. Ruby skidded on her heels, surprised to find Ranger Jackson and Boone standing next to a prewar semi-truck. "What's the deal? Shouldn't we be moving?"

Ranger Jackson nodded, pulling a set of keys out from his coat. "Rule one of being a Ranger; always have a way out." With that, he inserted the key into the truck's door, turning it. The veteran Ranger jumped in, turning the ignition and starting the engine.

Boone slid over the hood, opening the passenger side door and jumping in. Noticing where the situation was going, Ruby quickly ran to the back, clambering into the truck's cargo trailer. Ranger Ghost jumped in as well, turning and stretching a hand out. Ruby watched as her hand closed around the glove of one of the Rangers she didn't know, pulling hard. The unknown ranger landed on their knees in the trailer, looking up at Ghost for a second…

…Before being caught in the back with a heavy laser.

The Ranger fell forward, the fist-sized hole running through their spine and lower torso already cauterized. Ghost screamed, slinging her rifle off of her shoulder and firing from the hip, cycling the bolt as rapidly as she could. Ruby watched as the gutted out T-45 chestplate of the heavy trooper behind the truck was dented inward; bullet holes the size of golf balls appearing and quickly filling with blood flowing outward. The final shot in the clip was aimed slightly higher, shattering the glass of the eyes as it passed through the soldier's skull.

The truck lurched as it rolled backwards, the NCR heavy crunching like a tin can under the wheels. Ruby pulled down the trailer's door, latching it. Ruby looked back over her shoulder, only to see Ranger Ghost pulling the helmet off of the wounded Ranger. Black hair tumbled out from the helmet, sticking to the sides of the person inside's head. Ruby could see a woman's face, her skin a deep caramel in color, but fading slowly to a more pale tone.

At this point, Ranger Ghost's normal cocky air was completely gone. Ruby watched as she panicked, pulling the medical box off of the trailer's wall. She popped it open, immediately wrapping a super-stimpack's strap around the Ranger's midsection and injecting just above the wound. "Come on, just stay with me…" Ghost said, choking on her own tears as she worked. Ruby was surprised as she watched the wounded Ranger do the last thing expected…

…She smiled.

The Ranger, obviously struggling, unhooked the stimpack. Before Ranger Ghost could react, she placed a hand on the albino woman's cheek, pulling her closer. Ruby saw Ghost lean in, listening to words carried on a final breath, too quiet for Ruby to hear. Ruby watched as Ghost nodded, reaching for the medical supplies. Instead of another stimpack, to Ruby's surprise, three syringes full of Med-X were pulled from their ancient packaging and prepared. Ranger Ghost slid in next to the woman, resting her head on her shoulder. Ruby watched as Ghost began to sing softly into the mortally wounded woman's ear…

…as all three syringes of painkillers were jabbed into the wounded woman's chest, emptying their contents rapidly.

" _Fly me to the moon; let me play among the stars…"_

The Ranger shook slightly, but her hand never let go of Ghost's. Ruby stood up, heading for the end of the container nearest the truck and letting the two Rangers have their peace. She reached the front, surprised to find a handheld radio sitting on top of a rusty toolbox. She picked it up, pressing down on the 'talk' button. "Hello? What's this connected to?"

The radio crackled for a moment followed by Ranger Jackson's static filled voice coming on. _"You three alright back there?"_

Ruby thought for a moment on how to word her answer. "Ghost and I are on, but the other woman…"

" _Understood."_ Jackson said curtly, cutting Ruby off. _"Now, I believe I need to fill you in on some information…"_

Ruby nodded, too tired to realize how pointless the action was. "Yeah. What's happening?"

Jackson chuckled on the other end of the radio. _"All Desert Rangers were given a choice when we first signed on with the NCR; take our orders directly from the NCR's Ranger command along with any new recruits, or take the more… traditional path."_ Despite no visual, Ruby could tell the man was smiling. _"Two months in the desert, nothing but a revolver with one shot in it and the clothes on your back. Those who made it were personally granted Rangerhood by the oldest living Pre-NCR vet in the area. Those of us who follow the old code do our best to help the NCR, but in a case like today…"_ The man trailed off.

Ruby got the point. "So… where do we go from now?"

" _We'll be arriving at the Safehouse soon… hopefully most of us made it."_

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

The semi pulled up in front of the Safehouse ten minutes later. Ruby opened the back of the trailer, jumping out while Ghost prepared her fallen comrade. Ruby looked around at the compound in wonder. The Safehouse itself seemed to be nothing more than a reinforced door in the side of a cliff, but the thing that shocked Ruby the most were the Rangers themselves.

Almost a dozen vehicles sat scattered around the relatively narrow canyon, ranging from rusted motorcycles to a covered military transport truck full of crates of ammo. Each soldier was running about doing what they could to fortify the location, all in varying sets of armor and equipment. A man three times Ruby's size walked past, massive minigun in his hands being fed from a large backpack. Close behind the tank was a small-framed woman, wielding nothing but a silenced 12.7mm pistol and a set of hatchets.

In her splendor, Ruby turned around suddenly, accidently colliding with something. She looked up, only to find a weathered face looking right back, brow furrowed. "What in tarnation…"

Ruby stepped back out of shock, stopping when she felt a hand on her shoulder from behind. She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Ranger Jackson's voice from behind her. "Chief Hanlon, sir! Glad to see you made it."

The older man nodded. "Same can be said, Jackson. Who else made it?"

Ruby felt Jackson's hand tense up on her shoulder. "Ghost and I made it out, but Jakobs and Robertson…"

Hanlon shook his head. "Damn bastards were waiting for a chance to strike. With you two, that makes about fifteen of us that made it…"

"Um, sir? Sixteen." Jackson said, almost sounding proud.

"What are you… oh? _This_ is the one you mentioned?"

Ruby blushed as Ranger Jackson nodded. "Yep; she slaughtered her way through Nipton, taking down at least four dozen lapdogs before we even showed up."

Hanlon nodded. "Miss… Rose, was it? Can we have a word in private?"

Ruby nodded hesitantly, feeling Jackson's hand leave her shoulder. Chief Hanlon nodded towards the safehouse door, leading Ruby towards it. "Well Ms. Rose, I have a couple of questions…"

"Yes, sir?" Ruby asked, nervous.

Hanlon looked down at her, a stern expression on his face. "Why do you kill?"

"What, sir?"

"Why do you kill? What makes you believe your life is worth more than any other being out in this hellhole?" Hanlon asked neutrally as he unlocked the door.

Ruby responded, without hesitation. "To protect others from monsters. The things this Legion has done… I can no longer call them human. I treat them as the beasts they are, doing my duty as a Huntress."

Hanlon nodded. "Interesting choice of term; 'Huntress'… I can respect that answer. What about non-Legion men and women?"

"Again, for protection of others. If someone is threatening an innocent, it is merely my duty to act as needed."

Hanlon considered that for a moment, leading Ruby through a rough concrete hallway to the back of the safehouse. He then nodded, looking down at Ruby again. "What do you think of the people of Freeside, and the Strip?"

Ruby responded. "They all have their own story, but it all sums up to the same thing in the end; people trying to survive in hell. Some are just from out west, sapping off of the locals, but others are just trying to live."

"Would you raise a gun in their defense against the NCR?"

Ruby nodded. "If the NCR crosses the boundary of violence against their own citizens, they are almost as bad as the Legions they fight."

Hanlon smiled as he came to the end of a hallway. He opened a door to usher Ruby into what she assumed was his office for the base. The walls were clad in both pre and post-war décor, ranging from assorted flags to paper clippings to different guns. He finally spoke once more as he reached a wall safe behind his desk. "Well Miss, while this is a bit unorthodox, it is obvious that our corps needs to bend the rules a little bit as of now. So, I only have one question…"

"And what would that be, sir?"

The man stepped back out, dropping a large bundled package on the desk in front of Ruby, as well as a few assorted bottles. "Will you be having a Nuka or a Sunset, Ranger Rose?"

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Ruby looked herself up and down in the mirror of the Ranger barracks, slack-jawed in awe. The armor plates around her midsection fit perfectly on top of the torso-glove, not even leaving room for a knife. The jeans were worn but very comfortable, with lightweight armor weaved into the material from the knees down. The helmet fit perfectly, with the mask able to snap off either completely or just above the breathing apparatus. The duster hung low, its brown leather torn, burnt, and frayed from years of use along the bottom edge.

Ruby reached for her Pip-Boy on the table beside her, before stopping. She thought to herself for a moment, before picking up the device and, without clipping it on, hit a few buttons on its face. As she did so, the device's entire contents were laid out neatly on a rusted cot. Ruby picked up her weapons, assorting as many as she could on her body; her carbine latched onto her back, her 10mm pistol in a concealed pocket inside of her coat, a combat knife strapped into a sheathe in the inside of each boot, the _Blackhawk Redux_ hanging from her belt holster, and her Auto-Axe and the _WhiteRose_ placed to the side for the moment.

Following her organization, Ruby picked up the remaining objects; a few assorted pieces of food, her red cloak and silver crosses, a couple of books, and the armor-plated blue and yellow V13 jumpsuit. She folded the jumpsuit, placing it and the food in a duffle bag with her auto-axe and her disassembled rifle. She looked at her cloak for a moment, before noticing a disheartening sight; a long, three-inch wide chunk of the crimson fabric, running from the bottom to just before the hood, hanging on by a few threads. Ruby sighed, thinking to herself for a moment. _'Sorry mom…'_ She thought as she plucked the section off, folding the remaining hooded cloak and placing it with the vault suit. She took the torn section of fabric, tying it like a scarf in the small gap between her helmet and the highest plate on her armor, before clasping the silver crosses on her belt.

Ruby picked up the Pip-Boy, opening a small panel in the back. She looked at a small circuit-board, with the processor decorated by a drawing of the Vault-Tec mascot aiming a gun in one direction while staring at the Pip-Boy in his wrist. Ruby unplugged the chip with one hand, placing the now dead Pip on the table and removing her mask. She looked along the side of the gas-mask, smirking when she found exactly what she needed. She flicked the panel open with her thumb, clicking the chip into place in the empty slot.

Ruby put the mask on as she drew her revolver. She took aim, focusing for a moment and ignoring the almost minty coolness that suddenly jumped into her right temple. As she aimed at herself in the mirror, time seemed to slow down for Ruby, granting her a feeling of elation as her hopes were confirmed. She lowered her weapon, time speeding up again, only to raise it once more in real-time. _'Alright, all I need to do is think about it when I aim…'_ she confirmed, holstering the weapon once more.

"The gear suits you pretty damn well if I say so myself."

Ruby turned on a heel, only to find Ranger Ghost sitting on a cot three rows down. The woman's gear was mostly off, with the heavy armor, duster and helmet sitting on the cot next to her. She wore little more than her jeans and a flannel shirt, along with two sets of dog-tags hanging from her belt. Ruby approached the albino Ranger, leaning against a support pillar next to the cot. "I… I'm sorry, for your loss."

Ghost pulled a cigarette out from the coat next to her, lighting it with a pocket lighter. The woman took a deep breath of the tobacco, before nodding to the cot across from her. Ruby took the hint, sitting down. Ranger took another drag, before pulling the cig from her lips. "It's ok; we knew what we were signing up for with the NCR; powerhouses like that are bound to turn at some point."

The pair sat in an awkward silence for a moment, before Ruby spoke up. "What was her name?"

To Ruby's surprise, Ghost grinned as she looked down at the tags tied to her hip. Ruby watched as a single tear welled in Ghost's eye, quickly disappearing behind a hurried wipe. "Jakobs. Ranger Nisha Jakobs; signed into the corps in 2278… one of the last of us before the NCR merger. We went through our trial together… We were always…" The Ranger began to choke on her own words, dropping the cigarette and stamping it out in anger.

Ruby moved quickly over to Ghost's cot, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's ok; let it all out…" The crimsonette huntress said, her hand gripping Ranger Ghost reassuringly.

Ghost shook her head, looking up. "No. She wouldn't just mope about if I got hit; she'd…" Ghost inhaled deeply, sighing. "She'd keep on moving, doing what she could to get back at those bastards out west."

Ruby grinned, patting Ghost on the shoulder. "That's the spirit!"

Ghost smiled, looking over to the cot Ruby had been working at. "What's with the wrist-thing? I thought they were only from people in those Vaults."

Ruby shrugged. "It was a gift, but… I don't need it anymore. It's too much of a crutch."

Ghost nodded. "Alright. Anyway, the Chief wanted everybody outside. Grab your gear."

Ruby nodded. "Alright, see you out there."

Ghost stood up with Ruby, putting a fist out. Ruby accepted it, pounding it with her own before turning and walking back to her corner. She slung her bag over her shoulder, securing the strap tightly before looking at the mirror one more time. She sighed, realizing that the young, perky trainee from Beacon had been lost in the Wasteland forever…

...As a Huntress stared back at her, smiling with pride.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Ruby checked her carbine as she walked, loading a drum magazine of alternating AP and HP .308 rounds and clicking the safety to 'panic mode'. She stepped out of the safehouse's outer door, following the last of a group of rangers. She looked around, smiling when she saw the crowd around her.

Each Ranger was clad in the same heavy armor, personalized and unique. Ruby saw a man in a dark green duster with a revolver on each hip conversing with one in a desert-pattern camouflage one wielding a riot shotgun. Three rangers were stationed sitting on the ridge above the safehouse, each with some form of scoped weapon at the ready and looking in a different direction.

Ruby leaned against the canyon wall, only to find Boone leaning a few feet to her left. The man walked over to her spot, as stern as always. "So; new look?"

Ruby shrugged, her voice slightly distorted by the gas mask. "Hanlon initiated me about an hour ago."

Boone nodded. "Good job, kid. I always respected the Rangers; even before they merged with the NCR, they were always honorable."

Ruby raised an eyebrow behind her mask. "Why not try and join them?"

Boone shook his head. "No… I was never very comfortable with the isolation from the rest of the NCR."

"What about now? You know, with them attempting to kill their own citizens and such."

Boone looked down, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I served under the Bear for years. Every breath, every step, every _bullet_ was in their name… until that day."

Ruby tilted her head like a confused puppy. "What day?"

Boone shook his head, closing his eyes. "My wife…" He breathed in deeply, letting it out with a huff as he reached for his hip. He drew a flask, taking a swig of its contents. "Have you ever had to make a decision so hard that it breaks you? Something that you know is right, but still hurts?"

Ruby thought back to the highway outside of Novac. Remembering how the blood had flowed from the wounds of the legionnaire after her bullet had crossed through his body. Ruby nodded somberly. "Um… to a certain extent, yes."

"Would you kill someone you loved to save them?"

Ruby looked at the man in shock. "I… I…"

Boone shook his head, patting Ruby on the shoulder. "Sorry kid, not a good time. The way the NCR is acting… A few bad memories are coming back. Go; join your kin, we'll talk later."

Ruby nodded, taking a few steps into the crowd of Rangers. Immediately, she saw a recognizable form; a shock of white hair under a cowgirl hat, accompanied by a heavy duster with a massive burn mark through the lower middle section. Ruby stepped next to Ghost, still dwarfed by the tall woman despite the armor. "Are you holding up?"

Ghost nodded without looking down. "I'm alright kid, don't worry. You?"

Ruby nodded, fiddling with her rifle nervously. "I'll be ok. What's happening?"

As if on que, a set of gunshots sounded from the front of the group, silencing all. Ruby looked forward, only to find Chief Hanlon and Ranger Jackson standing on top of the trailer that she had ridden in with. "Rangers…" The greying Chief yelled. "…our time has come. The NCR has done the unimaginable; they have issued their troops orders to move on Vegas, taking it by clearing out all who oppose."

A few gasps and sounds of realization flowed through the crowd.

"As Rangers, our side in the issue was clear; get the hell out, regroup, and hit back as hard as we fuckin' can!"

The Rangers cheered at this, but almost immediately settled back into a somber worried state.

"Now, we have lost many of our numbers. I received word on the radio that…" The Chief choked on his words for a moment, as if deciding how to say the next announcement. "…I received word from our troops in Baja. The NCR's Rangers have wiped all Desert veterans from their ranks."

Every Ranger pounded a fist on their chestplate, before stomping hard and letting out a wordless 'o-rah'.

The Chief cleared his throat, continuing. "Now, we will have time to mourn our fallen, both abroad and here…" He nodded to a corner, which Ruby saw held at least a dozen pine boxes in a line, each with a helmet or hat and some sort of firearm on top. "But I must first bring up what little good news I have. I am proud to say that, while she hasn't passed the traditional trials, Miss Ruby Rose is being vouched for by Lieutenant Chiefs Ghost and Jackson to join our ranks." With that he managed to lock eyes with Ruby through the crowd, nodding towards the improvised podium.

Ruby panicked as she walked forward, feeling every set of eyes drilling into the back of her skull. She reached the back of the trailer, running towards the bumper. She jumped, her feet meeting the bumper as she kicked up as hard as she could, managing to land on top of the trailer feet-first. She approached Hanlon and Jackson hesitantly, shaking slightly as she walked.

Chief Hanlon threw Ruby a smile, clapping a hand on her back. "Ranger Rose, do you swear to uphold the honor of a Ranger, defending the innocent and purging those who would cause Evil?"

Ruby nodded. "Yes sir."

"Well then, I believe that we have a new member of our creed! All in favor?"

Every Ranger threw up a salute at once.

Ruby smiled, bowing slightly. "Thank you all. Now…"

Ruby was cut off as a gunshot echoed through the canyon. Almost every Ranger pressed a finger to their temple, apparently listening intently. Ruby stared, confused, before Jackson reached for her head, adjusting a small dial on the side of her helmet. An unknown voice sounded over the helmet's comlink. _"Repeat, inbound NCR armor, less than a click to the south… Three trucks, fully stocked, at least one heavy squad…"_

Ruby jumped into action with the other Rangers, heading for the ladder up to the canyon ridge. She quickly ascended, skipping three rungs at a time before rolling onto the upper cliff. Ruby sprinted over to one of the Rangers in a sniper position, sliding to a stop. "Where are they?"

The Ranger nodded to the south without question. Ruby looked without a scope, shocked to be able to make out three distinct trucks on the horizon, approaching fast. Ruby felt a hand on her shoulder, clasping tightly before a Rifle was dropped at her feet. "Sorry, it's the best they could spare…" Ruby heard Boone's voice sounding in her ear.

Ruby picked up the rifle, examining it; a wood-stocked carbine with a short clip and a scope, in a semi-automatic formation. She picked up the battle rifle, shouldering it and taking aim at the approaching convoy, happy to find the scope was long-enough range to achieve her needs. "Thanks," she said, running the rifle up and down as she addressed Boone. "Are you going to be alright? Firing at NCR troops…"

Boone grunted, and Ruby saw the barrel of his own rifle extend next to her own. "Fighting NCR is one thing… but fighting civilian-killing monsters is another." With that, the veteran marksman took aim and fired the first shot.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Ruby fired her final round, the 'ping' of the clip ejecting matching that of the .308 round off of the armor of the NCR heavy. Ruby dropped the rifle, satisfied by the five soldiers she had managed to down on two clips of the relatively small rounds. She unshouldered her carbine, looking down sights at the trucks sitting a mere thirty meters away from the safehouse door. The initial three had been greeted with five more from the north, as well as a vertibird that was hopping troops in almost as fast as the Rangers could drop them.

Ruby fired a few bursts into the soldier she had already stunned, the AP .308 rounds clearing a hole for each HP one following close behind. Ruby slung the weapon over her shoulder, taking a step back before leaping forward off the cliff. She drew a ten-inch knife from her boot midair, slamming it home between the trooper's helmet and shoulder with the force of a twenty foot fall behind the blade, shattering his collarbone and neck. Ruby stood up, ripping the knife from its home in the heavy and throwing it at the nearest lightly-armored soldier before drawing the _Redux_ from her hip. Ruby focused for a moment, time slowing down slightly. She pinpointed the heads of the five nearest footmen, fanning the hammer as quickly as she could and emptying the cylinder, instantly giving every one of her targets a molten lead lobotomy.

Ruby holstered her revolver, drawing a second knife as she stepped towards the still-standing woman with her first one embedded in her shoulder. Ruby pulled the knife out, slashing to the side and catching the woman's throat as she went.

Suddenly, Ruby's ears were filled with ringing. She spun around, knives up, only to find an NCR footman crumpling to the ground, bullet hole through his skull. She looked up, smirking inside of her helmet as she saw Boone reloading his rifle from his position on top of the cliff, watching over her. Ruby nodded in his direction, taking cover behind one of the Ranger vehicles that NCR plasma-fire had already scrapped. The speaker in her ear beeped, before Chief Hanlon's voice sounded over the com. _"All Rangers fall back! They've reached the safehouse; scramble NOW!"_

Ruby stood up, looking over her shoulder to look down the canyon. She could see Rangers either darting for vehicles or running on foot, breaking engagements without a second thought. She turned back forward, looking towards the front she was defending…

…Only to catch an armored fist with her face.

Ruby felt her nose break under the force of her faceplate denting inwards. She rolled backwards, reaching up and ripping her helmet off, clipping it to her side. Through the blood, she could make out a sight that shook her to her core.

All NCR heavies Ruby had met up to that point had been clad in gutted out power armor, resting on their own body with a heavy harness instead of a standard frame. Even with the armor, they all stood at normal height, plus a couple of inches, and moved slower than a one-legged deathclaw.

The being standing over Ruby stood at least seven feet tall, had steam blasting from a vent in their back, and was wielding a four-foot fire axe in each hand.

Ruby rolled to the side as both axes came down where her neck had been. She looked up as she slung her carbine down, more closely observing the armored figure. They were in a full set of T-45, which was obviously fully powered. The NCR's two-headed bear was printed in red on the front of the gunmetal steel chestplate, with a large red star on each shoulder. The skin of a bear hung from its shoulders, the edges covered in blood and burn marks.

Ruby opened fire, spraying around the center of the target's chest. The AP .308 rounds left dents smaller than the divots on a golf ball before bouncing off, and the HP rounds turned into brass and lead confetti celebrating Ruby's eminent doom. Ruby slung her bag onto the ground, dropping it and her rifle as she quickly undid the zipper. She rolled backwards, avoiding a sideways swing from an axe as she drew the Auto-Axe.

Ruby revved her weapon's motor, the proton blades flashing to life. She stepped forward, ducking from another horizontal swing as her axe's spinning blades reached the armored being's waistline…

…as the fusion core powering the apparatus died, automatically ejecting and locking the spinning blades.

Ruby panicked, going into plan B. She shifted her flying mass up, instead slamming the now dead auto-axe into the armor's chin. The armored figure stumbled backwards briefly, before rebalancing and swinging down with both axes. Ruby knelt and threw her auto-axe up, catching the blow with the body of her weapon. She watched in pain as the fighter ripped his axes out to either side, tearing her weapon's chassis clean in half, throwing both pieces in different directions. Ruby tried to roll backwards, only to find herself against a solid stone cliff face. She threw her arms up over her head, preparing for the axes to come crashing down on her skull.

Instead, Ruby's ears caught the sound of both metal and man screaming. She looked up, only to get caught with a splatter of blood flowing from the massive open wound in her assailant's chest. She watched in awe as a massive blade pierced the man from the other side, before shooting straight upwards with a flash of blue. The lower torso, caught in the blue flash of plasma, was cauterized instantly as the section caught above it was cleaved long-ways, the helmet falling away in two clean pieces.

Ruby watched as the armored hulk, now shredded like a tin-can, was thrown to the side. A massive, armor-plated hand shot down, open peacefully. Ruby took it, yelping as her arm was nearly pulled from its socket as she was hauled to her feet. Ruby looked up at her savior, jaw dropping in awe.

The warrior stood at least seven-foot-six, clad in full power armor. The armor was very similar to Veronica's T-51, with curves that were much more natural than those of the T-45, except in a rust-speckled white, and in much better condition. A torn flag hung like a half-cape, fastened on one side and wrapped around the neck. The right arm was a completely different model, obviously painted to try and match the original white of the other pieces, with rough edges and a few metal prongs/domes sticking off, glowing blue as they arced with electricity. Strapped onto the left arm was a massive shield, made out of the hood of a white _Corvega_ shaped into a more manageable size.

The warrior hoisted their blade over their shoulder, which only enthralled Ruby more. It was massive; the grip was two feet long, and the blade was roughly Ruby's unarmored height in length, and almost eight inches wide, ending in a pair of right-triangular points with a gap between. The gab reached about halfway down the blade, where some form of plasma weapon pulsed intimidatingly with blue light, running down to the grip.

The warrior knelt down, picking up Ruby's dropped duffle bag, along with the items that had spilled out. Ruby watched as they picked up the few things that had fallen out of the side pockets, freezing as they passed over one item in particular. The warrior stood up, handing Ruby her duffle bag. Ruby threw it over her shoulder, only to find a surprising item in the warrior's hand; her copy of the _Wasteland Survival Guide_.

The warrior handed Ruby the book, shaking their head as if coming back to reality. Ruby accepted the book as the warrior patted Ruby's shoulder as softly as one could in a set of power armor. _"Nice choice, kid."_ The figure said, their voice too distorted for Ruby to take anything away from it. The crimsonette Ranger merely nodded, watching as the warrior turned and began walking, catching a glimpse of their back, taking note of the image of a golden lion over gears imprinted on the cape of the hulking power armor.

Ruby watched as the warrior charged shoulder-and-shield-first into an NCR heavy, crushing their body against the canyon wall. The warrior spun, backhanding a soldier with their shield before following through with a swift blade through the skull. A pair of heavies stepped up behind the warrior, only to be caught in a flash of white light. The two fell twitching to the ground as a second warrior, clad in deep grey power armor of assorted T-45/51 pieces, jumped down from the top of the canyon, a massive cannon arcing with electricity slung over their shoulder.

Two more figures dropped shortly after the one wielding the electrical cannon. They were clad in jet-black power armor, with edges less like a T-51 and closer to that of the salvaged arm on the white armored suit. The only differences between the two were their weapons, both some kind of flamethrower, only in different layouts, along with the fact that one was left-handed, the other right.

The group marched down the canyon, killing any NCR forces on sight while leaving the Rangers unharmed, oftentimes prioritizing targets in order to protect the Rangers. Within a minute, the only traces of the armored saviors were the corpses of NCR soldiers in varying states of destruction.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

The Rangers surrounded the massive bonfire. To their surprise, none of the remaining Rangers had been killed in the skirmish with the NCR. Chief Hanlon stood up, all Rangers looking at him. "Well, I believe it can be said that we are very lucky for what happened tonight."

A few rangers nodded in agreement. Ranger Jackson spoke up, putting down his bottle of _Nuka Cola Dark_. "Who the hell were they? The Brotherhood hasn't struck out like that since Helios…"

Hanlon shook his head. "Whoever they were, they sure as hell weren't Brotherhood… at least, not any that I've seen before; too… honorable. The BoS would've slaughtered us _all_ on sight…" He shrugged, taking a swig from his drink. "Anyway, that's not the important part. We need to make plans to move, and fast. The NCR's on our heels, and we're out of a safehouse."

A worried murmur made its way through the Rangers. Ruby looked up, an idea forming. "We could ask for help from the Boomers…"

Hanlon tilted his head, looking down at Ruby. "The Boomers… as in the xenophobic tribals with military-grade weapons and nothing but boredom and line-of-sight stopping them from using 'em? _Those_ Boomers?"

Ruby nodded proudly. "Yup."

To Ruby's left, Ghost spit out her drink. "Kid… are you _sure_ you didn't take a shot to the head from one of those NCR cans?"

Ruby shrugged. "I kinda managed to…" She trailed off, quieting.

Ghost pat Ruby on the back. "What did you do, kid?"

"Well, a couple of friends and I did the group a few favors, and we're more-or-less welcome to come and go whenever."

Chief Hanlon smirked. "Well, it looks like we have a plan than. We head north in the morning, with one stop…"

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And where would that be?"

Hanlon chuckled. "We may be crippled, but we still have a job to do. We're cutting straight east first; there's a large Legion camp in Cottonwood Cove that needs to be cleared out."

At Ruby's side, Boone did the last thing she ever expected; he laughed out loud. "It's about damn time!"

Ruby patted Boone on his shoulder. "Calm down big guy, we have a night to prepare for it."

Chief Hanlon nodded. "Alright, now that that's out of the way, we have something else to cover…" He stood up, pacing to the door of the safehouse. Every Ranger followed closely.

Just inside the door to the safehouse sat about a dozen coffins, every one engraved with the name of a Ranger, shining from the coat of oil that had been added minutes ago. Hanlon stood forward. "We all knew the risks when we joined. We have done what thousands before couldn't; we've turned this irradiated slab of dust, sand, and rock into our environment. We wander these lands, knowing that they are our home! And as we come, we go just as quickly, once more into the desert."

Hanlon raised one of his revolvers. "Jakobs, Nisha." A single shot was fired, followed by one from every Ranger in assembly, including Ruby. This continued twelve more times; a name, a single shot, and then sixteen synchronized ones. With the final shot, Chief Hanlon took aim at something that Ruby couldn't make out inside of the safehouse. "From desert we rise, in desert we wander, to desert we return." With this, he pulled the trigger.

A large stone door slammed down, released from its spot hanging just behind the normal one. Ruby listened, making out the sound of fuel canisters rapidly igniting on the other side of the now permanent door. Hanlon reached into his bag, retrieving a small sheet of paper, as well as a sharp metal chisel and a small mallet. "Go ahead and get some sleep, Rangers. Dismissed!"

With that, every Ranger but three made their way back to the bonfire, where sleeping bags were set up. Ruby stepped towards the Chief, Ghost and Jackson close behind her. The Chief looked back at them, raising his eyebrow slightly, before reaching into his bag and retrieving three more sets of tools.

Ruby took the tools with pride, looking at the first name on the list Hanlon had placed on the ground, and prepared for a long night.

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 _A.N._ _: Well, that was a nice chapter. Sorry for it not being Yang and Weiss taking on Freeside/The Strip yet; I started this chapter during the last day of class as a joke, and decided to finish it._

 _I would like to say a huge thanks to all of you who have stayed with me this long; I'm trying my best, and the constant support and positivity helps me get through the writer's block and depression (among other mental issues) that tend to drag me down when working. TO those that constantly PM ideas back and forth with me: Thanks! It helps a LOT to have friends to chat ideas with. To those who wish to help throw ideas around or just chat: Feel free! I may be a bit outgoing and fast, but that's just because of how fast ideas fly through the cobweb-filled skull of mine._

 _Thank you all again for reading, and I am already working on the next chapter, so don't worry about another gap quite this big again (Yay, summer break!). I do work once a week, but besides that I am locked in my room eating and writing 90% of the time (the other 10% being spent catching up to Dr. Who and Supernatural). Thank you all, feel free to Fav/Follow/Review, PM if you want (talk, review, or complain, etc.), and just remember; keep fighting the good fight!_

 _DovahCourier_


	30. Chapter 30 - Blue Suede Vs Combat Boots

_AN_ _: Hello Readers, DovahCourier here! Time to get rolling; let's see how our favorite blonde bombshell and silver swordswoman (that alliteration TOTALLY DIDN'T took me half an hour to think of) handle the mean streets of Freeside, shall we?_

 _For an idea of timeframe, this chapter is the same day that the last two covered, so this is happening while Ruby and Boone are out with the Rangers._

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 _I do not own RWBY or the Fallout universe. Those belong to Rooster Teeth and Bethesda/Black Isle/Interplay/Obsidian/whoever the hell else has made a Fallout game._

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The Tale of Dust and Sand

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Thirty: Blue Suede Shoes vs Combat Boots

"Are you sure you want to leave? There's plenty of room on the _38_ …" Yang asked, sliding out from under one of House's many pre-war cars. She sat up, wiping a coolant smudge from her face and onto the dirty mechanic jumpsuit she was wearing.

Raul rolled out from under the same car as Yang, putting his tools down and sitting up. " _Si_ , I'm rolling out. The stories you've told me… there's a whole wasteland out there. I need to see things, _do_ things! I've heard there's a mechanic shop out in Gecko out west that pays pretty well, and has managed to get a couple of actual cars working…"

Yang wiped the grease off her hands, before extending her right one to Raul. "Well, it's been a fun day, albeit a short one."

Raul nodded, accepting the handshake, callused leather meeting the rough hands of the brawler. "That it has. I hope the changes to the bikes help…"

Yang grinned, nodding. "Ruby is going to freak when I show her… Now, are you taking this old girl?" She asked, patting the gunmetal-toned door of the car they had spent the last hour under.

Raul shook his head. " _No_ , I'm more of a motorcycle man myself… Is _Senor_ House going to care if I take a bike?"

Yang shrugged. "I don't know; the rich bastard stopped talking to anyone but Liz as soon as we walked in. I doubt he'd even notice."

"Well, in that case…" Raul stood up, walking over to one of House's motorcycles. It was a chopper; low seat, long front wheel fork, and handlebars that would require one to put their hands above their head to drive. Raul saddled up, his tool bag hanging on his back. The ghoul hit the ignition, revving the engine with pride. He nodded in Yang's direction. " _Gracias, Senorita_ Xiao Long! Tell Ms. Belladonna thanks for getting me out of that damn radio station!"

Yang nodded, waving. "The wasteland's all yours, desperado!"

With that, Raul revved the engine, speeding through the garage, around the other cars, and up the ramp, into the desert.

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Yang threw her feet up onto the couch's armrest, throwing a handful of pre-war chips into her mouth before washing it down with a swig of _Nuka_. "So Ice Queen…" *CRUNCH* "What's the plan for today?"

Weiss sat on the other side of the living room table, which was scattered with pieces of a long rifle that she was cleaning. "Well, Liz gave us a couple of options while she and the others are out; See if we can broker out a business deal with a couple of the wandering caravans…"

"Pass!" Yang exclaimed, tossing a chip and catching it in her mouth.

"Or, we could wander down to Freeside and see how many caps we can make in an afternoon."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "Liz told us to do that?"

Weiss smirked. "Well… She didn't tell us _not_ to do it…"

Yang swung her legs down from the couch, sitting up. "Meet you in the lobby in ten minutes."

With that the two split off, heading to their own rooms. Yang walked in quietly, looking at the bed. As expected, Blake was still lying in bed, passed out in a pile of sheets. Yang walked over to her dresser, stepping lightly. She peeled the dirty mechanic jumpsuit off, tossing it away before picking up and sliding into a set of jet-black cargo jeans. For her top, Yang settled on the absolute basics; a tight-fitting purple tank top out of Blake's side of the dresser that cut off a couple of inches above her belly-button, followed by her deep yellow scarf. On her hands, Yang wrapped boxers tape from one of the dozens of rolls she found in the 38's basement ring, going all the way above the elbow. She looked at her Pip-Boy briefly, before shaking her head and leaving it on the bedside table.

Yang reached into the duffle bag she kept next to the bed, drawing her weapons. She slung both of her grenade launchers, barrels sawn off short and stocks traded for pistol grips, into holsters hanging at her sides, loading her belt's ammo loops with incendiary shells. She strapped _Two-Step_ onto her right arm, glad that the modifications she had made allowed her hand to remain free while worn. She topped it all off with her newest toy, a four-foot sledgehammer with a large booster engine taking up half the head. _'I'm turning into Nora…'_ Yang thought, chuckling as she threw the massive weapon over her shoulder like one would with an umbrella.

As Yang reached the door, she stopped as she heard movement from the bed. She turned around, grinning when she saw Blake sitting up. "Morning Kitty-Cat…" She said softly.

Blake blinked the sleep out of her eyes, wrapping up in the nearest sheet. "Morning Babe…" The Cat Faunus' mouth widened as she yawned silently. "Where are y- wait… the cuffs…"

Yang chuckled. "I have my ways… and a few bobby pins… don't worry; my turn on top tonight!" The blonde brawler winked, quickly darting out of the room and closing the door behind her.

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The elevator dinged as it reached the top floor. Yang and Weiss stepped in, hitting the button for the casino floor. A few moments into the ride, Yang broke the silence. "So… you and Ruby…"

Weiss broke into a cold sweat. "What… What about it?"

Yang glared at Weiss, fiery eyes melting into the heiress' soul. "Do you love her?"

Weiss nodded without hesitation.

"Is she the _only_ person for you; the person you are ready to spend the rest of your life with?"

Again, Weiss nodded.

"Why?"

Weiss was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"Why do you love her? What do you see in my sister?"

Weiss thought for a moment, awkwardly pulling at the suddenly tight knot of her tie. "Well… She's Ruby. She's absolutely gorgeous. She's the sweetest person in the world! She's trustworthy, she's loyal, she's adorable… and she's the only reason I'm even here right now…"

Yang raised an eyebrow at this comment. "What do you mean?"

Weiss shuddered at the memory for a moment, before speaking up in a quiet, slightly embarrassed tone. "We were at the Big MT… I was panicking, and had thought those _Mentat_ things were just mints…" Weiss breathed in deeply, holding back tears as she looked Yang in the eyes. "When the person you've secretly loved for almost a year comes out with the same exact feelings towards you, it tends to help you keep your head on straight."

Yang stood there for a moment, silent. She placed a hand on Weiss' shoulder for a moment, squeezing tightly. "Thank you."

Weiss looked up, confused. "For what?"

The elevator dinged, opening on the _38_ 's casino floor. Yang let go of Weiss, stepping out with a positive bound in her step before looking back over her shoulder at Weiss.

"For making her happy."

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"So, where to first?" Yang asked, looking out into Freeside as the duo walked past the gate.

Weiss shrugged. She had put on one of House's gunmetal suits, the silvery threads shining slightly in the sun. "Not sure. The _Atomic Wrangler_ seems a bit… crass…"

"And that is bad because?" Yang asked sarcastically.

Weiss groaned, before pointing towards a large building at one of the city's major intersections. "What about there? They're bound to have a couple of odd jobs…"

Yang shrugged. "Sure, let's go see." With that, she took the lead, Weiss following, with the two cybernetic dogs close behind.

Yang looked up, reading the building's sign out loud. " _The Kings' School of Impersonation_ … well, certainly sounds interesting." She looked over at Weiss. "Are we going in?"

Weiss nodded, stepping towards the door, Yang in tow.

As soon as the door was open, Yang and Weiss' senses were bombarded. The sound of music came from multiple speakers, carrying the voice of a man with a deep accent singing about 'Las Vegas'. The room was covered in old posters, all depicting a man with a strong jaw, a greased up black pompadour, and outfits that were likely visible from space. Every person in the room was dressed in a way that made them look like the poster man's backup dancers; greased up hair, blue jeans, and matching jackets with matching _'Kings'_ logos on the back.

Yang immediately walked up to the front desk, leaning in on her elbows like she owned the place. "Hey there, any work around here?"

The man sitting behind the desk lowered his sunglasses for a moment, glancing downwards and smiling before tilting his head up to meet Yang's eyes. "Well hot stuff, the King can always use another groupie upstairs…"

Yang raised a hand up behind her as her smile quickly dissolved into a scowl. She began swinging forward to backhand the man in the chair, only for her hand to be caught by Weiss halfway through. The snow-haired heiress stepped forward, leaning her weight onto Yang's much larger frame to keep her from throwing any punches with her good hand. "Sorry for my friend, she's a bit… hot blooded. We meant if you have any work that keeps our clothes on, and our pockets full."

"Why didn't ya say so?"

Yang and Weiss looked over their shoulders, looking for the source of the voice that hadn't come from the still silent receptionist. Leaning against the wall next to a door labeled ' _Theatre_ ' stood a girl. She stood at only five-foot-null tops, jet black hair shaved on both sides and cut to a couple of inches on the top, greased up to spikes. She wore a white leather jacket with steel studs, as well as a black/white prison-striped shirt torn diagonally to show her belly off. Between her fingers was a silver-plated switchblade, which she was using to pick at her teeth.

The girl stepped forward, and Yang immediately realized she was roughly Ruby's age, if not a couple years below. "You two willing to do some work?"

Yang nodded, holding back the urge to pin the girl down and search for any signs of an umbrella. "Yeah, we are. What's the job, short-stuff?"

The girl laughed, before reaching into her jacket casually. In a flash, Yang was on the floor, a biker-boot heel digging into her chest and a silver-plated 12.7mm pistol between her eyes. "Alright, rule one; call me short, and you lose teeth. Got it, sugartits?"

Yang nodded. "Ten-four."

The girl smirked, stepping down and reaching down to pull Yang up. Once the blonde was on her feet, the girl started walking towards the theatre door. "Anyway, right this way misses…um?"

"Schnee and Xiao Long." Weiss stated, still smirking from Yang's sudden fall. "And you are?"

The girl smiled. "Lisa Marie, The King's Second-in-command, at your service."

Yang laughed out loud at that. "You, in charge of this place? How the hell did you manage that?"

Before Yang could finish, Lisa burst into the theatre, yelling with more force than Yang expected from such small vocal cords. "DADDY! WE GOT SOME HELPERS!"

Yang looked across the room towards the stage, manifesting all of her power not to laugh at what she saw.

The man sat at the front most table looked almost identical to the one in the posters. His hair was in a godly pompadour, held up with enough grease to most likely be a fire risk. His jacket was faded, with a few scorch marks, holes, and missing tassels.

Yang swung a chair out, sitting down and throwing her legs up onto the table without hesitation. "I presume you're the King?"

The man responded in a deep voice, accent drawn out in a near identical replica of the man singing over the speakers. "That's an affirmative darlin'. So, you two are willing to do a bit of work around here…"

"What kind of work are we talking about?" Weiss inquired, taking a much more subtle stance next to Yang.

"Well, here in Freeside, there is a very competitive business; escorts."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "Well I'm sorry sir; I'd love to make a few more caps, but I don't think my girlfriend would be very ok with me-"

Weiss immediately slammed a hand over Yang's mouth. "I don't think that's the kind of escort he's talking about…"

The King chuckled. "Don't worry motor mommas; this is a clothes-on operation. I mean bodyguards; the rich gamblers crossing over into the Strip tend to want a gun escorting them past our little hellhole. There is one merc who's apparently been raking in the caps from his operation; too many caps. I want you two to-"

Suddenly, the door to the theatre slammed open. A pair of Kings stepped in, rushing towards their leader. "Boss, we got a problem…"

The King immediately stood up, ignoring the two guests. "What is it?"

One of the men leaned on a table, obviously out of breath from running. "A few of the Freesiders got roughed up a bit… they're down at the old fort, barely holding on."

The king looked back to Weiss and Yang, snapping his fingers and pointing at them smoothly. "Well ladies, it looks like I have a new job for you…"

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Yang led the way into the Old Mormon Fort, walking up to the central security table without hesitation. Weiss watched as a woman in a lab coat with a spiked-up Mohawk greeted the blonde as a friend. "Miss Xiao Long! It's been a while; any word from Beatrix over at the Wrangler?"

Yang nodded. "She's making money and having fun, which is what matters. Anyway, my associate and I…" She gestured towards Weiss, who waved. "Are here on behalf of the King. Apparently there was a bit of a scuffle down the road?"

The doctor nodded, stepping out from behind the table and beginning to walk towards one of the tents in the corner of the courtyard. "Ah, yes… we found these two beaten to a bloody pulp in an alleyway, over by the pump; they're just waking up."

Yang and Weiss followed the doctor towards the tent. Weiss recoiled as the tent flap opened and she was hit with a wall of smell; a crude mix of antiseptic and blood. The doctor held the flap open as Weiss and Yang stepped in. Inside were four figures; two Kings in chairs holding crude melee weapons, and two Freesiders in rags laying in cots. Yang put a hand out calmly as the two Kings reached for their weapons cautiously, speaking up softly. "We're here from the King himself; what's the situation?"

As Yang and the Kings discussed details, Weiss knelt down next to one of the wounded men. She could immediately tell it had been a one-sided fight; the older man had an arm in a splint, was covered in bruises and scrapes, and had a scraggly beard filled with coughed-up blood.

As Weiss observed the man's wounds, she heard a raspy muttering from behind her. She turned around, only to find the second Freesider sitting up in his cot. The man was younger than the other, and had gotten off a bit easier; no obvious breaks outside of a nose, and a few small scrapes and bruises. The man coughed, a small amount of blood dribbling from his mouth as he attempted to speak again. "Wat… water…"

Weiss reached for her belt, pulling her canteen off its clip. She handed it to the man, watching as he drank deeply from the vessel. "Sir, I'm here from the Kings. We'd like to know who incited the fight that landed you two…"

Weiss was shocked when the man interrupted her with a laugh. "You're calling it a _fight_? It was a fucking mugging! These three came out of nowhere… it was dark, but they all were in similar clothes from what I could tell."

Weiss nodded, following along. The man offered her water back, but she shook her head, gesturing for him to keep it. "Did you happen to hear any names? Or if the assailants mentioned any locations?"

"Well, after we were both on the ground getting our shit kicked in, I did hear another voice yelling at the bastards from a distance… called one of them 'Lou'… 'Lou-Ten-Gnats', or some other drugged-up raider name…"

Weiss nodded, patting the man on the shoulder as she stood up. "Thank you for your cooperation; the kings will do their best to find your assailants." With that she turned around, only to find that Yang had somehow incited a fight between the two Kings guards. Yang stood up, nodding to Weiss and leading the white-haired girl out of the tent before the first fists could be thrown.

The pair headed out of the Old Mormon Fort, thanking the doctors on the way out. "So, it looks like the NCR's troops may be causing a bit of trouble around town…" Weiss said.

Yang nodded. "Sure looks like it. Military troops storming and taking over a community like this… sounds like something they'd do back in Atlas."

Weiss glared up at Yang for a moment, before nodding in agreement. "Fair enough. If father ever caught word of a Dust deposit being found, it wouldn't even be a week before he had troops bribed into taking the nearest town and setting up for extraction to begin."

Yang looked down at Weiss. "Not a fan of ol' daddy's tactics? Even if they kept you rolling in dough?"

Weiss shook her head, gazing into the distance and slowing her pace. "He may have been my father, but that doesn't mean he automatically gets my respect." She shook the chill off, catching back up to Yang's pace. "So, where do we start?"

Yang shrugged. "Not a fucking clue. Maybe we ask some of the Freesiders if they've seen NCR boys doing anything suspic-"

Yang was suddenly cut off as a loud blast sounded in the distance. She immediately grabbed Weiss by the shoulder, dragging the white-haired girl with her behind a rusted out car frame for cover. The two stayed still for a moment, before another blast sounded out, followed by distant screams and the bark of rifle fire.

Yang and Weiss jumped into action without a word, weapons at the ready as they sprinted down the street.

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Yang and Weiss reached the eastern gate to Freeside, turning a corner and immediately skidding to a halt. Before them stood a massive, chaotic mob of mixed Freeside settlers and Kings Members, all yelling and throwing whatever they could find towards the gate. Yang jumped up onto a nearby dumpster, looking out across the sea of people with a mix of anger and shock.

On the other side of the mob, quickly flooding into the city's blown-open gates, was a wave of fully loaded NCR troops. The wave was led by soldiers in gutted power armor, wielding massive riot shields and crackling cattle prods. Yang watched as a Freeside man clad in nothing but rags pushed towards one of the riot troopers, only to have a shock prod jammed between his ribs as he fell to the ground.

Yang jumped down from her perch, landing next to Weiss. The smaller girl looked over at her Blonde friend, confused. "What is it?"

Yang looked at Weiss, her normally cocky expression replaced with a serious one. "Get back to the _38_ and get the others, now."

Weiss raised an eyebrow, confused at the sudden change in Yang's tone. "What is happening? Raiders? Legion?"

Yang gritted her teeth, reaching over her shoulder and dragging out her hammer. "Get the others now. If you see any NCR troops on the way, take their heads off."

Weiss opened her mouth to question, but her voice was lost in a sudden burst of gunfire, followed by a wave of panicked screams. Weiss turned to run towards the gate to the Strip, following the panicking crowd as she watched Yang stand her ground, facing the oncoming wave of NCR riot troopers.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Yang found herself standing in the middle of Freeside's main road, a handful of Kings by her side. She looked around, shocked to find dozens of bodies scattered around the street. The wave of NCR troops came to a halt, planting their shields hard in the ground before them, leaving a gap in the center wide enough for normal troops to come walking forward. A small team of lightly armored soldiers stepped forward, led by what Yang immediately recognized as a high-ranking official. The man, wearing a clean olive-green officer's uniform adorned with dozens of shining badges and stars, stepped forward calmly. "Halt! We are under orders from NCR high command to take Freeside and New Vegas as a state of the New California Republic."

Yang stepped forward once, ignoring the dozen or so rifles now aimed at her head. "And that gives you the right to come in here, slaughtering civilians?!"

The man glared at Yang, unshaken by the angry blonde standing mere yards away from him with a massive rocket-powered hammer. "Freeside and Vegas are not yet NCR territory. Therefore, it isn't firing upon civilians…" He stepped forward, planting his foot on the back of what Yang assumed to be a corpse, and drew a sidearm from inside of his coat. Yang watched as the wounded Freesider writhed in pain under the officer's boot for a few moments, before his head was blown off by the high-caliber handgun in the officer's hand. "…It's pest control. Now stand down or you will be fired upon as enemies to the NCR." The officer said, raising the handgun to level with Yang's head.

Yang stood, unfazed. "What kind of monsters find THIS ok?!" She spread her arms, gesturing to the bodies sprawled across the road. "You claim to be fighting for good, to be fighting to beat the Legion… but is this the only way to win? You just SLAUGHTERED unarmed people for thinking differently than you and wanting a different life than what you offer." She pointed at the officer with her hammer. "Last time I checked, that's not how you fight the Legion… that's how you _become_ them!"

Yang didn't have time to wait for a response. She dropped to her knees with a scream as she felt a white-hot pain stab through her right leg. She looked down at her leg, finding a dark red stain spreading over her upper thigh. She immediately clamped a hand over the bullet wound, wincing with pain as she investigated it with her hand. It was a clean wound that had avoided the bone completely, entering and exiting on the inside of her thigh.

Yang looked up at the NCR's riot line, surprised to find that the commanding officer's gaze had left her. He, along with every troop she could see, was staring at a single soldier in basic fatigues, smoking rifle sitting in his shaking hands. Yang stood up, drawing a Stimpack from her boot and jabbing it into her wounded leg. She heaved her hammer up, igniting its booster and raising it with both hands. "I was going to just scare you all of…" She looked up, her eyes flashing to their crimson red state. "But now I'm pissed." With that, the blonde sprung forward, swinging her hammer towards the NCR officer with a roar.

Before Yang could get anywhere near the commander, her path was filled with an NCR riot trooper. Her hammer impacted at the center of the soldier's shield, shattering the pre-war metal and Plexiglas like brittle wood. Yang stepped backwards, hammer at the ready as a semi-circle of a dozen riot troopers closed in on her. Yang raised her hammer, moving to swing at the now shieldless trooper, only to drop to one knee and pull the ignition on her hammer. The twenty-pound chunk of steel spun with her, catching the six troopers directly in front of her in the knees with a sickening crunch. Yang followed through with another boost, angling the hammer upwards and using the momentum to drag herself upwards…

…as her hammer went flying from her grasp, embedding itself into a brick wall.

Yang raised her right fist, slamming _Two-Step_ into the face of a soldier. She felt the explosive shotgun shell embed itself into the armored plating of the gutted T-45. Yang followed the punch with a jump-kick, using the soldier's shield as a springboard as she flipped backwards out of the closing-in circle of soldiers. Yang pumped her fist, loading the next shotgun shell into her gauntlet and detonating the one currently embedded in the riot soldier's helmet. She watched as the soldier's helmet imploded, sending shrapnel flying into the closest troops and throwing the armored brutes off of their target.

Yang looked around her, surprised to find that The Kings had managed to rally to the fight. She watched as dozens of men and women took cover behind rusted out cars and dumpsters, firing handguns and throwing Molotov cocktails into the oncoming wave of NCR soldiers. Yang ran towards the Kings' line, springing off of an upended car and grabbing her hammer out of its resting place in a brick wall. Yang landed, hammer in hand, behind one of the improvised barricades the Freeside street-gang had set up.

Yang looked up, surprised to find Lisa Marie standing at the front of the Kings, silver-plated handgun firing into the NCR troops. "Glad you could make it, Blondie."

Yang chuckled, drawing her grenade launchers and loading a pair of incendiary shells. "What can I say; I'm a trouble magnet!"

"Well, let's hope you're as good at shooting as you are at talking; we got more troops coming in at the north gate, and I've heard that the NCR already has everything but here and the Strip under lock and key."

Yang fired her grenades into the NCR crowd, making sure to aim far back enough to avoid seeing the immediate results of her bombardment. "C'mon, we can hold the li-"

Yang was cut off as a thunderous boom filled the battlefield. She looked over the King's barricade, only to see a tank painted in NCR colors slowly rolling through the Freeside gates.

Lisa Marie stood up tall, firing a few rounds in the air and yelling to her troops. "Fall back! All kings, back to base!"

Yang clamped a hand on Lisa Marie's shoulder, shaking her head. "That thing is going to turn your place into a fucking tomb. Head for the strip; we can get you all out through the _38_."

Lisa Marie nodded, waving an arm towards the Strip end of Freeside. "GET EVERYONE YOU CAN OUT OF HERE! GO, GO, GO!"

Yang popped open her launchers, loading one with a high explosive shell and the other with a plasma shot. "You better get running too; I don't think white leather can block a tank shell." With that, Yang fired both grenades into the lower floor of a decaying pre-war building. Brick and mortar went flying as the street-side wall of the four-story structure came tumbling down in front of the NCR lines.

Yang immediately grabbed Lisa Marie by the midsection, throwing the screaming girl over her shoulder as she made a break for the Freeside/Strip border.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Yang skidded to a halt at the Freeside gate, dropping a very angry Lisa Marie off of her shoulder. She looked around, surprised to find that none of the Freesiders had even approached the gate yet. Yang stepped forwards, shouldering her way past the crowd, coming to a halt when she reached the security threshold.

A dozen of House's securitrons stood in a line outside the gate, their screens showing images of angry cartoon policemen. All units had both arms up, aimed at the crowd with laser emitters at the ready. Yang immediately stepped forward towards the front securitron. "Open the gates, now."

The security bot merely stared at her blankly for a moment, before the policeman image disappeared in static. The screen flashed a ' _please stand by_ ' card for a second, before quickly being replaced with the still image of Robert House's smug face. _"And why would I do that?"_

Yang glared at the billionaire's image, not in the mood to deal with him. "The NCR is laying siege to the city. We need to get these civilians out of here before-"

" _And bring them WHERE?! Through MY Strip, where they'll immediately make me a target for the NCR? Freeside is a separate entity to the Strip entirely; any affairs of one are not tied to the other. And it is obvious that these individuals won't be able to pay for their passes, so…"_ The securitrons all raised their arms, laser emitters warming up. Yang raised her arms, crossing them defensively in front of her face as she felt the heat of the wall of laser weapons preparing to discharge.

"All units complete factory reset; override code PF-A113."

Yang looked up, smiling when she saw the securitron units all go limp, powering down. She looked behind the wall of deactivated robots, only to find Veronica standing in her set of power armor at the gates. The brawler nodded to Yang, a sly grin crossing her face. "Well, that could've gone a lot worse. C'mon, get everyone inside."

Yang headed for the gate, jumping at Veronica and catching the woman in a hug as the people of Freeside made their way around the pair. "Thanks." Yang said, letting herself down from Veronica's massive frame.

Veronica nodded, forcefully patting Yang on the shoulder. "No problem; now come on, we need to get these people through the _38_ and out of here."

Yang looked up at Veronica, confused. "Why aren't we just staying in the Thirty… V, what _happened_ to you?" Yang looked Veronica up and down, taking in her friend's current state.

Veronica's armor was scraped and dented, ranging from laser burns, to bullet dents, to chunks of armor that looked like they had taken an axe to them a few times. Veronica's boots and gauntlets were coated in blood, splattered from close-range combat. The hand-to-hand expert shrugged. "The NCR boys up at the embassy came down to the _38,_ guns blazing. Liz's orders are for us to…"

"Pack up, lock and load, and get the hell out of Dodge." Yang looked up, only to find Liz waiting near the doors to the _38_. The Courier sat on top of the burnt-out remains of a securitron, wiping a layer of blood off of her katana blade. "The NCR is going to come blasting through here at any moment now; we need to get moving south before House locks the whole place down."

Yang nodded, getting the gist of the situation. "Alright, where are the others?"

"YANG!"

Before Yang could respond, she found herself being tackled to the ground forcefully. Yang panicked for a moment, only to have her senses overwhelmed with the feeling of soft hair on her cheek, as well as the aged vanilla scent of old book pages. Yang immediately returned the violent hug, standing up with Blake in her arms.

Blake pulled away from the hug first, and Yang could tell she had been crying, hard. The Cat Faunus' eyes were puffed up with dark, heavy bags underneath them. Yang immediately pulled Blake into another hug, gripping onto her partner tightly. "Shhhh… it's ok Kitty-cat, I'm here…"

After a long embrace, Blake and Yang pulled apart. Yang looked back to Liz. "What's the plan?"

Liz smiled. "The others are already at the tunnel out of the garage. We need to get-" The woman was cut off by what sounded like thunder in the distance, followed by a massive explosion a few blocks up the strip. "We're advancing our plans a bit; we're hitting the Fort tomorrow."

Yang nodded, acknowledging how quickly plans were advancing. "We haven't had time to plan out! What do we do when we get there?"

Liz sheathed her katana, drawing her dual .556 pistols with a spin as she made sure they were loaded. "It's simple: We go, we see, and we conquer their barbaric asses straight into the ground."

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 _A.N._ _: Well folks, this is it; the beginning of what you've been waiting for. One more chapter, than on to the Fort! Sorry if the King's personality was a bit off… I remembered his general personality, but forgot his voice and such, so I'm pretty sure I improvised and filled the empty spaces with bits of Elvis and Johnny Bravo._

 _Well, all bad Elvis impersonators aside, New Vegas is officially going to shit; NCR storming the city, Freeside gutted, and the Strip going into complete lockdown with our heroes on the other side of said lockdown. The Bull is restless to the east, the Bear is advancing from the west, and a handful of wild cards are doing their best to raise a bit of hell in-between the two. Next chapter is a last bit of Ranger stuff, then it's off to the one part of New Vegas that I always find a way to screw up; The Fort! I've had a while to plan out how the fort is going to go, but any and all ideas are accepted for discussion or consideration._

 _To those who've both made it this far and not abandoned me; thank you so fucking much. I'm sorry that other things have taken priority, but senior year is a bit hard at times, and requires complete effort a lot of the time. Thank you all for reading, h_ _ave an amazing day, and just remember; keep on fighting the good fight!_

 _-DovahCourier_


	31. Chapter 31 - Everything Wants To Kill Us

_A.N._ _: Hello Readers, DovahCourier here! Wow… it feels weird, senior year; the hard-ish parts are mostly done, and at this point I'm along for the ride, doing my best to keep my GPA up until I get to university. All I have to do is hold it together for a few more months, and I'm off to wherever I've been accepted for the moment._

 _Well, everything about me aside, here's the next chapter! I hope you all had a great holiday season, and I hope you like the next chunk of my little tale. This time, We're back in the Ranger-sized combat boots of miss Ruby Rose, the morning after the Freeside VS NCR events of the last chapter._

 _(BTW, sorry if I missed any minor layout errors; I've switched my laptop from Windows to Ubuntu and LibreOffice is a bit stupid when converting from a word document.)_

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

 _ **I don't own anything!**_ _ **The Fallout universe belongs to Bethesda/Black Isle/Obsidian, and RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth.**_ _ **A**_ _ **ll I own is the laptop I'm writing on, the original ideas I throw into this mix, and a few metric tons of crippling anxiety!**_

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The Tale of Dust and Sand

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Thirty-one; Why does Everything Want to Kill Us?

Ruby hated the sun sometimes. She loved to lay in it's rays while on the beach, or to watch as it shined through the dew left by a summer shower, or to feel it warm her to her core as the winter snow began to melt. But when the sun began to bake the Mojave to toasty 115 degrees, with heat radiating off of every tan and red rock that surrounded the Desert Rangers for miles? Ruby could feel her body attempting to shift from a solid to a liquid, and succeeding more with every passing moment.

The Rangers had managed to rest from midnight until sunrise. After the previous day and night of running, regrouping, and holding their ground, the Rangers had decided on their next move; to march towards the Legion's encampment at Cottonwood Cove in the east and see how much damage they could dish out to Caesar's troops. Ruby had enthusiastically jumped into action; slinging her fully repaired AMR over her shoulder, strapping her helmet to her hip, and leading the hike eastwards with a spring in her step…

…only to find herself panting in the back of the squad within five minutes of departing.

While she certainly loved her new armor and coat's appearance over that of the well-worn vault jumpsuit she had been clad in for the majority of her time in the Mojave, she found that the Ranger gear had its downsides; primarily, the fact that it weighed almost four times as much as the pre-war blue suit currently in her duffel bag.

The Rangers came to a stop on a cliff overlooking a stretch of pre-war highway. Ruby settled near the front of the group and leaned in over the ledge, peeking through _WhiteRose_ 's scope. To the north, she couldn't see much; merely an endless stretch of decrepit prewar highway surrounded by rocks, dust and sand. In the far distance, surrounded by the haze of the Mojave heat, she could make out

a tiny t-Rex shaped dot on the horizon.

Ruby shifter her weight to the left, lifting the rifle temporarily before planting its bipod in the earth, gazing northwestward. She could see the imposing figure of Black Mountain in the mid-day light, the natural structure's prewar radar facility sitting in ruins on its crown. Ruby could see, behind the shape of the massive mountain, a pillar of black smoke marking the location of the safehouse-turned-tomb for the Rangers.

"So, kid, how do you think we should approach?"

Ruby peeked away from her scope, only to find that Chief Hanlon had settled onto the rocky earth next to her, looking through his own rifle's scope.

"Well..." Ruby thought for a moment. "I assumed the plan was for us to head straight through the front doors and go from there."

Hanlon nodded slightly, eye not leaving his scope. "But how are we going to get there? Do you even know where Cottonwood _is_?"

Ruby nodded, raising her rifle and sitting up. She shifted towards the southeast, raising

her rifle up to her eye. "It's just that way, down the highway past the… oh..."

Ruby's gaze fell about a mile out upon what she assumed had at one point been a town.

Prewar buildings surrounded an old overpass, spreading to the north and south. The close end of

the town appeared to have a small NCR checkpoint, blocking any approach over the overpass. The

entire town had a haunting haze to it, the heavy mist swirling around the town slowly with a

slight off-green glow.

"You were saying?" Hanlon said, nudging Ruby's shoulder.

Ruby ignored the old man's playful insult, instead scanning the landscape surrounding

the town. She pointed towards a rocky hill slightly north of the town, sitting perfectly over where she knew the cove to be. "What about that hill? It should be looking down at the cove..."

Hanlon lined his scope up with where Ruby was pointing, looking for a moment. He

heaved his rifle over his shoulder, looking down at Ruby with a slight smirk on his face. "Good idea kid..."

The chief stood up, leaning against his hunting rifle. "Rangers! We're moving on Cottonwood. We'll be taking a hill about four klicks east-northeast of here with sight of the stronghold." A visible wave of excitement swept over the resting Rangers.

As the Rangers began to speak to each other about the plan, a single trooper stood up. "Sir, if I may have permission to speak freely?" The woman asked, leaning casually on what appeared to be a pre-war rocket launcher.

Hanlon nodded. "Permission granted."

The female Ranger spoke up. "We are low on rations, almost out of water, and are light on ammo. What do we expect to do after pulling out from this engagement?"

Hanlon raised a finger and opened his mouth to respond, only to get out a few stuttering noises.

Ruby cleared her throat loudly, gaining the attention of about half of the Rangers. "I think I know somewhere safe…" With that, most of the Rangers were looking at the markswoman huntress.

The Ranger that had spoken earlier nodded towards Ruby. "Yeah? And where would that be?"

"The Boomers up north owe me one; they can spare bunks and ammo for a few Rangers for a couple of days."

Every Ranger stared at Ruby in varying states of disbelief. Chief Hanlon himself looked down at the girl. "The Boomers? As in the explosive nuts bunkered down in the air force base?"

Ruby nodded, continuing the completely normal conversation. "Yup."

The chief merely stared blankly for a full ten seconds, awestruck. "But… how did you… but they..."

"Dodged some artillery, fixed some solar panels, killed a giant ants' nest, nuked a swarm of Cazadors…"

Chief Hanlon put his hands up, shaking his head. "You know what kid, forget I asked. Well, it looks like we have a retreat point… let's go sting some bulls, shall we?"

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

The Rangers reached the hill north of their planned spot. Ruby reached the crest of the hill, looking out to the east. The hill began to slope down on the other side, before dropping sharply and falling at least a hundred feet into a rocky canyon. Ruby brought her sight up to her eye, peering to the north. She could see all the way up the canyon, with a very faint shadow sitting atop a cliff on the other side of the canyon miles away. She could see smoke rising from countless fires burning from the hill itself and the area beyond her view.

Chief Hanlon pointed towards the taller hill to the south. "Alright. There's our spot. We can't all head up at once without painting a target on our backs, so I'm going to need a couple of-"

Ruby, Ranger Ghost, Ranger Jackson, and Boone stepped forward before the commander could even finish his sentence.

The Chief nodded, smirking. "Alright Rangers, soldier..." he nodded at Boone. "Your mission is simple; get up there, see what you can, and take out any prominent individuals you can. If we can take the cove, radio in and get ready to move." The man snapped to attention, bringing a hand up in a crisp salute. The three Rangers returned the salute immediately.

Boone led the march up the hill. Ruby almost lost her footing twice; the sandy, dry earth not giving her enough traction at moments. Instead of heading straight for the crest, Boone shifted slightly to the left, leading Ruby and the two Rangers to a what appeared to be a ramshackle campsite.

A pile of burnt sticks sat in a circle of cinder blocks, long since extinguished of any helpfulness. The threadbare remains of a rough blanket lay across the rough ground, little more than tatters. An ammunition box sat, rusting and empty, next to the old campfire. Ruby knelt down next to the tattered blanket, moving it from its position. In a small hole in the ground, under a rotting, rough piece of wood, was a long metal gun locker.

Ruby pulled the locker out of the ground, surprised by the weight of the case. She looked at the latch, only to find a surprisingly pristine lock holding the latch in place. She tugged at the chunk of metal, disheartened when the security device didn't shift at all.

"Let me see that."

Ruby looked over her shoulder, only to find Boone kneeling down next to her. Ruby looked at the man, surprised to find that his normal face of stone had melted away to show what she thought was slight sadness. Ruby nodded, shoving the metal case towards the man. She watched as Boone reached towards his neck, pulling away a necklace of dog-tag chain. On the chain was a small assortment of items; a pair of gold rings, a set of dog tags, a single high-caliber rifle shell, and a small locker key. Boone put the key into the lock, turning. The lock unclasped, falling off of the locker's latch. Boone lifted the locker's door, and Ruby watched as he pulled out its contents.

The rifle was a medium weight sniper rifle, similar to _Christine_ from the BigMT. The entire body had a desert camouflage scheme, with tans and browns blending together in an easy-to-hide configuration. The clip was shorter than most; Ruby guessed that it would hold five .308 rounds at most.

Boone raised the rifle, doing a standard inspection of the inner workings while Ruby started. "What's her name?"

Boone, still staring at his rifle, mumbled an answer under his breath, barely loud enough for Ruby to hear. " _Carla_..."

Ruby was about to inquire farther, but was cut off by Ranger Jackson's muffled voice coming from her hip. She grabbed her helmet, pulling it onto her head and popping the air tube into place. "Ranger Jackson please repeat, over."

Ranger Jackson spoke up, attempting to whisper over the com. _"Kid… Get up here_

 _now…"_

Ruby patted Boone on the shoulder, gaining his attention. She gestured towards the top of the hill before starting her hike up the hill. Just before the crest of the hill sat Rangers Ghost and Jackson, staying low behind the hill. "What's the issue? Why aren't we firing?" Ruby asked, confused.

Ghost nodded towards the top of the hill. _"Take a look. Stay low. Be silent."_

Ruby Nodded, crawling on her belly towards the crest of the hill. She reached the top, looked down into the valley of Cottonwood Cove…

...and she nearly screamed out of fear.

The entire cove was filled with legion troops. At least a thousand large tents were set up, each big enough to hold at least twenty men. Ruby could see entire rows of wooden crosses, with what she assumed were slaves and prisoners pinned and tied to die in the sun. She could see a single pre-war building above the sea of red and gold, with a few men clad in red robes and light armor sitting on the roof surrounding a bonfire as a man in chains was thrown into the rising flames. Ruby could only hear the muffled screams of his pain, drowned out behind the roars of the legion encampment in action.

Ruby reached up to her temple, pressing the radio button. "Chief Hanlon, we have an issue..."

" _What is it Ranger? How many are there? Twenty? Fifty?"_ Chief Hanlon responded,

slight excitement in his voice.

"Um… about twenty-five-thousand."

There was static on the other side of the channel for a solid ten seconds. The channel came back online, this time with a female Ranger voice that Ruby didn't recognize. _"Get the hell out of there. No fire. No signs. Just get back here and we'll make a break for the Bo-"_

Ruby's ears rang as a sudden gunshot sounded off to her left. She spun her head, reaching for her sidearm, only to find Boone laying on his stomach next to her, gun smoke spiraling away from the barrel of his desert sniper.

Ruby didn't even need to look back towards the valley to know they had been spotted. She could hear orders being barked, tents being collapsed, and the pings of retaliatory shots. Through it all, Boone stayed on his stomach, firing bursts of bullets and cycling clips faster than Ruby had ever seen.

Ruby listened as the Ranger radio frequency broke into chaos.

 _"_ _SHOTS FIRED, SHOTS FIRED!_ _"_

 _"_ _LEGION TROOPS INBOUND FROM THE WEST… THEY'RE COMING AROUND!_ _"_

 _"_ _WE NEED TO MOVE, PEOPLE! ALL RANGERS SCATTER NORTH, NOW!_ _"_

Ruby knelt next to Boone, shaking the man's shoulder. "Boone. Boone, we need to go... BOONE!"

Boone was shaking. Ruby watched as he slung his rifle over his shoulder, standing up slowly. Ruby stepped in to help him stand up, only to receive the full weight of the grown man against her small frame. Boone staggered to his feet, regaining his balance. Ruby looked up at the sniper, catching a brief glimpse behind his sunglasses; puffed up eyes, with tears flowing down his cheeks. "Boone, we need to get moving."

Boone didn't respond. Instead he slung the rifle off of his back, leveling it to his eye and aiming behind Ruby. She spun around, only to see a man clad in red fabric and sports padding get caught between the eyes with a sniper round. The legionnaire fell, only for three more to take his place. Ruby drew her revolver, fanning the hammer as she sent two shots through each man's chest.

Ruby and Boone began walking backwards slowly, heading towards the main Ranger force as they fired at any legionnaires that popped over the crest of the hill. Ruby caught a glimpse of scarlet to her right, quickly turning to face it. She stood before a massive legionnaire, standing at least six-foot-four with a machete in each hand. Ruby swung her revolver hand up to face the man, cocking the hammer back and pulling the trigger…

 _*click*_

Ruby didn't have time to respond as a wall of metal and flesh slammed into her. Ruby fell backwards down the hill, feeling her rifle and her bag torn from her back as she rolled out of control. She came to a stop, looking up to find the legionnaire sprinting full-tilt down the hill at her. Ruby reached into her coat, pulling out a single grenade and bracing herself on one knee. The legionnaire held one machete out towards Ruby's head, leaning farther into the sprint towards the kneeling Ranger.

Ruby waited until the distance between her and her attacker was as small as possible. She jumped to the right, tucking in as she rolled below the end of the man's blade. She steadied herself, raising her fists and jumping to her feet. The legionnaire stood about ten feet before her, and five feet behind him was the drop into the canyon. Ruby tossed her grenade into her off-hand, drew a combat knife with her right hand, and charged at the man.

Ruby slid, catching the legionnaire off-guard as her knife bit deep into his right ankle. She pulled the pin on her grenade as she slid, dropping it right under the man as she slid across the sandy ground. The huntress rolled on purpose. Digging her knife into the hard earth as her weight shifted from the rocky ground, over the open air of the canyon.

Ruby held onto her knife for dear life, using her other hand to hold onto a small outcropping as she braced herself. Two seconds later, an explosion rocked through the ground, followed by the horrified scream of the man thrown over the edge of the cliff. Ruby reached up, preparing to pull herself up from the cliff…

...as her foothold shifted below her, giving out under her weight.

Ruby felt her stomach drop as she began to fall. She scrambled, digging her knife into the cliff face farther as the metal blade struggled to hold her weight. Just as the earth near the cliff began to shift, Ruby felt a strong hand grab her by the back of the coat, hauling her up onto the surface. Ruby stood up to find Ranger Ghost standing near the edge of the cliff, her own rifle in hand and Ruby's _WhiteRose_ strapped to her back. The Ranger slung Ruby's rifle off of her shoulder, tossing it to its owner. "Kid, we need to go NOW."

Ruby nodded, looking around. They were surrounded by dozens of dead legion bodies in varying states of destruction. "Where's my bag?"

Ghost nodded towards the hill to the north where the rest of the Rangers had waited for the recon mission to finish. "Jackson grabbed it on the way out. The rest of the group is already making a break for the air force base, if we move now we can catch up."

Ruby and Ghost broke into a steady run, scanning their surroundings for any sign of legion troops. Ruby tapped the side of her headset, patching into the Ranger radio frequency. "This is Ranger Rose; Ranger Ghost and I are coming over the hill now. Does anybody copy, over?"

 _"CAUTIO- ALL RANGERS GET TO COV- INCOMING S-"_ Ruby's connection cut out with a burst of static.

Ruby turned to look at Ghost as the two reached the top of the hill. "Did you hear that?"

Ghost nodded as she looked up from her rifle. "Yeah. Be ready for any… oh my god."

Before Ruby could ask what had startled Ghost into coming to a full stop, she reached the top of the hill and looked out to the north. She could see the rest of the Rangers, followed closely by a large Legion raiding party…

...With a thirty story sandstorm flying in towards them fast from the northwest.

Ghost suddenly grabbed Ruby's collar, pulling the young Ranger with her as she began sprinting back down the hill. Ruby watched the Ranger's normal air of calm get lost under a layer of panic as she popped a Rad-X into her mouth, before being concealed behind her helmet being snapped onto her head. Ruby heard her local radio come on, tuning in to hear Ghost's shaken voice. _"Make sure that Geiger counter works, and pop a Rad-X if you have one."_

Ruby popped the air filter off of her helmet's mask, taking a Rad-X out of her coat pocket and tossing it into her mouth and replacing the filter. Within seconds, Ruby could hear the Geiger counter in her helmet ticking, starting off slow but slowly building. Ruby followed as Ranger Ghost made a break to the southwest, heading from the hills along the canyon edge towards the small town Ruby had seen from the ridge.

The pair of Rangers were halfway between the hill and the town when Ruby's entire world turned a mix of black, green, and orange. She felt the wind hit her back, followed by what she could only compare to being hit by a wave at the beach. Ruby stumbled, falling face first to the rocky ground. She pushed herself up, looking around to find that there was almost zero visibility whatsoever. Ruby stood all the way up, feeling as the sand and earth blasted against her from every direction. She began to panic, looking around frantically, only to find every direction held the same thing; near-blackness. _"Ghost do you copy? I repeat Ghost can you hear me?"_

 _"_ _Kid, wher_ _e_ _are_ _you? Turn on your lights!_ _"_

Ruby activated her helmet lights. Immediately, her vision was filled with a red glow. She could see through the sandstorm slightly better, making out the distant outlines of Ranger Ghost and a pre-war building on the edge of the town. She followed the Ranger into the derelict building, closing the ancient door behind her.

Ruby took off her helmet, looking around the building. It was a simple, one-room storage shed, with a few rusting shelves of long-raided containers against the walls. Ranger ghost took her helmet off, clipping it to her belt and leaning her rifle against the wall near the door. The woman pulled up a rusted folding chair, sitting down near the door. Ruby joined her, pulling up an old _Sunset_ crate and sitting across from the older woman. "So… what the hell was that?"

Ghost chuckled. "Never been through a sandstorm, kid?"

Ruby shook her head. "Never been in a desert long enough to see one."

Ghost looked at Ruby, confused. "Not from around here?"

"I guess you could say that." Ruby said, nodding.

Ghost looked out towards the window, watching as sand and earth blasted past at high speeds. "Looks like we're going to be here for a while… You clean of Rads?"

Ruby popped her helmet back on briefly, looking at the Rad indicator in the corner before taking it off again. "Nothing lethal, a half-dose of Rad-Away should clear it out."

The two fell into a bit of an awkward silence; the muffled sound of the storm sounding like a roaring train. Ghost finally broke the silence, looking down at Ruby as the young Ranger worked on her rifle. "So… any friends out there?"

Ruby nodded. "My team and I are staying with a few friends in one of the casinos on the Str… OH MY GOD!" Ruby stopped talking as the location of the rest of her team hit her. She looked at Ghost, worry in her eyes. "What's going to happen to the Strip? The NCR… their orders..." Ruby buried her head in her hands, shaking out of panic as the situation crashed over her.

Ruby felt an arm wrap around her shoulder. Ghost leaned in closer to Ruby's head, speaking softly into her ear. "It's going to be alright. Wherever they are, they're going to be ok." Ruby's muscles released a little bit of pressure, loosening up. "Do you have anyone… special? Anyone you are waiting to see again?"

Ruby nodded, face still burred in hands.

"What's his name?" Ghost asked, rubbing a hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"Weiss… her name is Weiss." Ruby let out quietly, looking up at the older Ranger sitting next to her.

A look of realization and understanding dawned upon Ghost's face. "Well kid, just keep her in mind, and know that you'll see her again as soon as this is all over."

Ruby nodded, relaxing and leaning back against a shelf. She began speaking softly to herself. "It'll all be ok… it'll all be ok… she's going to be fine..."

Ghost pulled a flask from her coat, taking a swig of its' contents. "So... what's she like?"

Ruby looked at Ghost, confused. "What?"

"This girl of yours! What's she like?"

Ruby considered the question for a moment. "She's… beautiful. Sure she's a bit coarse at times, but once she opens up, its like a little white rose is blooming just for me." Ruby smiled, zoning out as she thought of her lover.

"How'd you meet her?" Ghost asked.

Ruby chuckled, Remnant and Beacon seeming a million years in the past. "It's a bit of a long story… I tripped over her bags, tried to awkwardly say sorry, and ended up almost blowing her face off."

Ruby heard Ghost cough as the Ranger choked on her drink laughing. The Veteran Ranger regained her composure. "Well, I guess we can't all have the most romantic beginnings."

Ruby nodded. "You can say that again. We trained together for months, with a bit of friction on both sides… I didn't even realize I _liked_ girls until her softer side came out one night with a nice talk and a cup of coffee. I ended up just burring those feelings deep enough to ignore for a while, assuming they'd never be returned by someone so prim and proper." Ruby looked down at her rifle, running a hand over the engraving of Weiss' handwriting on its stock and cracking a smile. "I guess I was wrong."

Ranger Ghost Stood up, stepping towards the window. "Hey, it looks like the storm has passed through. If we get going now, we should be able to catch up with the rest of the Rangers by sundown."

Ruby stood up, heading towards the door. "Alright let's get moving!" With that the young Ranger grabbed the doorknob, pulled the door open, and stepped out of the building…

…only to immediately find herself face-to-face with a ghoul in full NCR fatigues.

Ruby reacted out of instinct, leaping backwards and swinging her rifle's muzzle up to the ghoul's head level. The ghoul let out an ear-piercing screech, extending its arms outwards and moving quickly towards Ruby. The ghoul only made it about half a step before Ruby pulled the trigger, sending chunks of irradiated skull and gray matter splattering outwards from the shed's doorway.

Ruby scanned the surrounding area, finding that dozens of ghouls were now making their way towards her location. She slammed the shack door shut, grabbing a set of shelves close to the door and pulling it down in front of the door with a loud crash. Within moments of the door being shut, she could hear the crazed pounding of ghoul fists against the old door. "Well, that doesn't seem like an exit..."

Ruby heard Ghost shift some items around out of view. "Kid, get over here!"

Ruby walked towards Ghost, keeping her rifle trained on the door that was now shifting slightly inwards with every hit. "What is it?"

Ghost stomped hard on the floor next to Ruby, only for a service hatch to groan and pop open under her boot. "Alright, either we sit around and wait for ghouls to break in, or we-"

"GERONIMO!" Ruby screamed at the top of her lungs as she jumped into the hole.

Ruby felt her boots hit the ground with a heavy thud. She quickly pulled her helmet off of her hip and snapped it onto her head, flipping on her night vision as she went. Ruby found herself in what she assumed was a pre-war maintenance tunnel, with walls made of rusting industrial steel and a floor of hard earth. The tunnel only went forwards towards the town, leading into a dark, unlit maw.

Ruby heard Ranger ghost drop in behind her, followed by the loud clang of the hatch closing behind her. Ruby's helmet com clicked on. _"_ _Alright kid, looks like we have to head through town to get out of here…_ _take point,_ _keep an eye on those rads, and be ready for anything._ _"_

Ruby nodded, slinging her rifle back over her shoulder and drawing her revolver as she began the march down the tunnel.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Ruby kicked open a service hatch, peeking into the room beyond. It seemed to be a small basement; cold concrete walls, no windows, still glowing pre-war florescent lights, and basic furnishings made up of military shelves and tables. Ruby stepped through the hole she had kicked in, revolver up and ready. Ruby peeked at her Geiger, happy to find that the device was only clicking once every five or so seconds, and was only picking up almost normal levels of background radiation.

Ruby felt Ghost's hand close on her shoulder as the older Ranger spoke up, helmet radio off. "Alright kid, stock up on anything you can find. We're making a break for the edge of town as soon as we can."

Ruby walked over to a table, looking at the assortment of pre-war equipment scattered across its surface. She noticed that it had at one point been some kind of workbench; small electrical tools were scattered, along with a half-empty Nuka Quantum and what Ruby quickly realized was a disassembled fragmentation grenade. She pushed some scraps of illegible pre-war notes out of the way, only to find a small ammunition box underneath.

Ruby opened up the box, finding a pair of fragmentation grenades and a scrap of paper sitting at the bottom of the container. The grenades were almost identical to the ones Ruby had seen throughout the wasteland, with the exception of each having a gold pin and handle, as well as a bright white cross painted across the face. She picked up the paper, quickly scanning the rushed, rough handwriting. "Let's see here… take out holy pin… shalt count to three… no more no less… not two or five... being the third number, lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade…" Ruby shrugged, ignoring the crazed ramblings and clipping both of the grenades onto her belt.

"Find anything good kid?"

Ruby looked over her shoulder at Ghost. "A couple of grenades. You?"

Ghost raised a burnt out fusion core and a small keyring. "Nope."

Ruby shrugged. "Well, better than nothing. Time to get going?"

Ghost nodded, slinging her rifle over her shoulder and drawing a leaver-action shotgun out of her coat. "Shoot our way out?"

Ruby put her revolver in her hip holster, instead pulling her 10mm out from it's hiding spot under her arm. "Is there any other way?"

The two Rangers reached the far end of the basement, finding a staircase leading up towards a dilapidating door. Immediately, Ruby could hear the Geiger clicking faster and faster, going from its docile safe state up to a tone to rival a cluster of mating cicadas. Ruby took the lead, pistol out in front of her in both hands as she approached the top of the staircase. She looked back at Ghost, nodding once.

Ghost nodded back.

Ruby put all her weight onto one foot, kicking off hard and going into the doorway shoulder-first. The two-hundred year old wood splintered from her mass, causing the young Ranger to roll through the impact onto her feet outside. Ruby raised her pistol, happy to find no targets in sight.

As Ruby got to her feet, she could feel something… different about the air. The town's atmosphere felt, for lack of better words, heavy. It felt as though the air was vibrating with heat, but to the point that she felt it affecting her from the inside out. Ruby radioed in to Ghost. "Alright, all clear up here. Ready to get moving?"

Ruby felt her earpiece vibrate slightly with each word. _"That's a positive Ranger. Take point; we're heading west through town, then north towards the Boomers."_

Ruby nodded, orienting herself west, leveling her pistol in firing position with both hands, and beginning the walk towards the edge of town.

Apparently the tunnel had taken the Rangers to the southeastern corner of the small community. Ruby could barely see more than ten feet in any direction; the closely-packed buildings and the dusty air too dense to see very much. "What happened here?"

Ghost stayed silent for a moment before speaking up. _"_ _This town is one of the only things between Cottonwood Cove and the rest of the Mojave. The legion couldn't risk having NCR troops stationed so close, so they found a pre-war stash of irradiated material and set it off . Within a couple of hours everyone within half a mile was either dead or-_ _"_

Ghost was cut off with a sudden wave of static. Ruby spun around, gun raised and heart pounding. She saw what had cut Ghost off… or, at least, the remains of it.

At Ghost's feet was the crumpled remains of a ghoulified NCR soldier. The soldier seemed in almost normal condition, with the exceptions of a torn up uniform, leathery jerky-like skin, and a distinct lack of the front of a skull. Ghost stepped over the corpse, leaning down and wiping the remains of the feral soldier's face off of her brass knuckles on their tattered fatigues. _"_ _As I was saying, everything was either dead or ghoulified like this poor bastard._ _"_

Ruby found herself staring at the leathery body, finding it hard to wrap her head around becoming something other than human. "Do you think it hurts?"

Ghost shrugged. _"It wasn't that bad… the knuckles help keep the impact from hurting my hands, but even a decaying irradiated skull_ _is about as strong as a-_ _"_

Ruby cut Ranger Ghost off, shaking her head. "Not punching his head in, becoming a Ghoul! Going feral! Do you think it hurts? Feeling your humanity seeping away slowly?"

Ghost stood for a moment, standing next to Ruby silently before responding. _"Not sure. A question like that requires one to think deep into how the human psyche works… and also requires one to stop shooting at stuff fore more than ten seconds. Therefore, it's about fifty miles above my pay grade."_

Ruby shrugged, smirking under her helmet at the smart-ass companion. "I guess we're helping them once they get to this point. Let's keep moving."

The two kept slowly making their way northwest, only encountering single ghouls in a range of physical states, from relatively fresh to ones missing limbs and jaws. The town's air of radiation only seemed to be getting continuously stronger, causing Ruby's head to swim as her helmet's air system became less and less effective. Ruby coughed as the normally crisp, filtered air began to smell of the surrounding town; decay, rot, and general sadness. "Any idea how close we are to the edge of town?"

Ghost pointed towards a building the pair were passing; a pre-war fire station. _"_ _Judging by that, we should be near the center of town. If we double-time it we should be able to… hold on._ _"_ Ghost put a fist up, coming to a stop before darting towards a collapsing wall and taking cover. Ruby followed, pistol at the ready.

"What is it?" Ruby asked, making sure she had a full clip of ammunition at the ready. Before Ghost could respond, Ruby heard the cause of the stop.

A gruff man's voice yelled out against the blowing desert winds. "Keep moving! We need to push through before the NCR can recover from that storm!"

Another voice called out, this one much less pronounced than the first one. "Legate, we need to slow down! We've already lost twenty men to the ferals, and another thirty to the glowing spirits in the ai-AGH!"

Ruby winced as she heard the second voice scream, followed quickly by the sound of flesh being ripped and torn. The first voice yelled out once more. "We will push through to the NCR's territory before they recover from the storm, and if anyone questions me again, they loose their fucking head!" Ruby peeked out over the crumbling wall she was hiding behind, and caught a glimpse at the source of the yelling.

It was the man from Nipton. Ruby immediately recognized the set of golden armor adorned with bloody red accents. Over his shoulder was what Ruby could only describe as the most brutal weapon she had ever seen; a bumper torn off of a car, flattened to an edge, and sharpened to a ragged razor. At the man's feet was a body in lesser legion armor, massive hole in his chest, entrails still trailing between the hole and the Legate's blade. The legate marched over the body, not even bothering to wipe his blade as the inner workings of the legionnaire were splayed across the desert earth.

 _"Kid…_ _We need to get moving, now._ _"_ Ruby could hear Ghost attempting to whisper over the coms as quietly as she could.

Ruby nodded towards the fire station. "We could duck in there until they pass through."

Ghost silently nodded, looking both ways before making a break for the building. Ruby followed closely, taking cover with the older Ranger inside of the building's outer doorway. Ghost attempted to turn the doorknob, which only resulted in a slight click as it refused to turn. Ruby raised her pistol, placing the barrel against the doorknob, only for the firearm to get slapped away quickly by Ghost. The Ranger reached into her pocket, pulling out the key she had found in the basement and pushing it into the lock. To both Rangers' surprise, the doorknob turned cleanly, opening into a dark room beyond.

Ruby and ghost stepped into the fire station. Immediately, Ruby's helmet began clicking even more than it had outside. Ruby could feel the room was at least twenty degrees warmer than it had been outside, leaving her sweating like she was in an oven. Ruby opened her filter, popping another Rad-X into her mouth before closing it. She looked around the room, unable to gauge its size due to an inability to see the hand in front of her face. "Ghost, any lights?"

 _"_ _Yup, just a moment._ _"_ Ranger Ghost flicked her helmet's flashlight on. Ruby followed the beam of light as Ghost looked around…

...and the two Rangers screamed in unison as their gaze fell upon the far end of the room.

A massive scorpion was crouched on the far side of the room, surrounded by countless bones of creatures ranging in size from geckos, to people, to what Ruby assumed was a deathclaw skull. The creature itself somehow managed to dwarf both the albino beast from team RWBY's initial days in the Mojave, as well as the mechanical one all the way back in the BigMT. What confused Ruby was the creature's back; while she could still see dull brown-blue exoskeletal plates, the scorpion's shell seemed to be covered in a mountain of pale-white lumps, each about as big as a pre-war computer.

Then the lumps began to move around on their own, scattering away from the light and across the large scorpion's back.

Ghost immediately killed her light as she and Ruby backed towards the door. As soon as the Ranger's light died, though, the room was lit up by another source. The spots and joints between the massive scorpion's plates of armor began to glow a radioactive green, only occasionally blocked by another semi-translucent lump scuttling in front of it. The massive beast turned to face the two Rangers, eight deathly green eyes focusing in on the intruders as its mandibles snapped open and closed, emitting an earth-shaking screech.

Ruby and Ghost immediately made a break for the wall opposite the one they had entered from; another doorway within the fire station. Ruby didn't wait to try the key, instead firing a pair of rounds into the lock and shouldering through the rotting wood with ease. The door led into a staircase upwards, which Ruby and Ghost immediately took three steps at a time.

As Ruby reached the top, she spun around and looked back downwards. At the foot of the staircase, three of the white lumpy creatures had crawled from the scorpion's back and were beginning to scuttle up after the Rangers. Ruby watched, identifying eight legs, front pincers, and tails with stingers swaying back and forth. Ruby pulled a grenade off of her belt, looking down at the small modified microfusion cell before pressing in the detonator button and tossing it into the ever growing swarm of young scorpions. Ruby and Ghost rounded the corner just as a wall of superheated green plasma came flying up behind them.

Ruby and Ghost came onto the station's second floor, slamming the door behind them and pulling a nearby chair in front of it. The room was an open area with a few bunks, a kitchen, a line of stalls against one wall, and a large hole in the center of the room with a pole running down from the ceiling to the bottom floor. Ruby let out a heavy breath, leaning against the wall next to the door and slowly sliding to the floor. She looked up at Ghost, smirking as she spoke up between heavy breaths. "Well… that could've been a lot wor-"

Ruby was interrupted by a loud crash from the floor below, followed by another roar from the massive scorpion. Suddenly, the metal pole in the center of the room was ripped out of its ceiling mounting. The now empty hole was filled with a massive tail covered in brown and black chitinous armor, glowing green between the plates.

Ruby and Ghost drew their rifles, opening fire on the scorpion queen's extremity. The .50cal rounds hit hard, causing the tail to rattle and hit the side of the hole in the ground, but did little more than leave tiny marks across the armor plating. The tail lashed out at the Rangers, striking the wall above Ruby's head by about three inches. Ruby immediately darted to the side, watching as the drywall in the spot hit by the wall began to turn green, melting away like paper under pressurized water. "Watch that stinger, this thing has acid!"

Ruby watched as Ghost drew a knife from her belt and hurled it at the beast's tail. The knife embedded itself between the final armor plate and the scorpion's stinger. Ruby smiled as the tail recoiled down to the first floor…

...only to come back up flailing, splashing acidic blood and venom everywhere.

Ghost and Ruby avoided a wave of flying acidic venom as it splashed down where they had been standing, melting a hole in the floor. The Rangers split, going different directions. Ruby made it to the far end of the room, barging into a pre-war bathroom stall and locking the door behind her. Ruby stepped backwards towards the far wall, avoiding the rusted pipes jutting out of where a toilet once was and attempting to avoid the door. Ruby peeked under the stall, noticing a few things at once. Her rifle was laying near the doorway to the staircase, undamaged by acid but out of reach. Along with that, the tail seemed to had come to a rest, leaning against the edge of the hole to the ground floor as a swarm of the stark white young scorpions came crawling up it like a ladder.

Ruby looked around the stall desperately for any kind of weapon. To her surprise, there was a fire axe resting against the wall in the corner. She picked it up, looking at the piece of pre-war equipment in detail. The handle was solid metal, with a heavy duty leather grip wrapped around the bottom two thirds. The head was solid steel, with a clean rust-free blade on one side and a six inch spike on the other. Ruby heaved the weapon up, testing its satisfying balance and weight before stepping towards the stall door and kicking it outwards.

Ruby immediately saw Ranger Ghost in the far corner of the room, using a pre-war cot as a rough shield against about ten of the scorpions. Ruby sprinted forward, axe at the ready. The huntress swung low as she made a pass, clearing out three of the creatures with one swipe. She threw the axe into the air, spinning around and drawing her revolver. Ruby slipped into VATS, skimming the room and popping off six shots into the scorpion swarm. As the final shot embedded itself into the scorpion's shell and splattered its insides across the floor, the axe came crashing down on the final creature.

Ruby dug the axe out of the floor, wiping the green scorpion blood off on her coat. Ruby and Ghost peered over the edge of the hole downwards, finding the massive glowing scorpion had retreated into a hole burrowed in the corner of the station garage. Ruby walked across the room, picking up her rifle and tuning into the com channel again. "Take it out?"

Ghost shook her head. _"No need, look."_

Ruby looked back into the lower story. To her surprise, the garage door had been forced open, and a small team of legionnaires had entered the structure. One of the men approached the hole in the ground, signaling to his allies. "Hey, there might be something in he-ARGH!"

The man's statement was cut off with a blood-curdling scream as a tail lashed out from the hole, burying itself in his chest before he could even blink. Ruby watched as all color drained from the man's face while the hole in his chest began to grow from acid melting through flesh. The man managed to reach for his belt, pulling out a fragmentation grenade and pulling the pin. Before the grenade even left his hand, the scorpion thrust its tail deeper, whipping it to the side and tearing the man in half as it did so. The grenade bounced off of the scorpion's plates, landing in the hole behind it and detonating.

The scorpion shifted forwards a few feet, much angrier but otherwise unaffected.

Ruby averted her eyes as she heard the remaining legionnaires being torn limb from limb as they fled the fire station. Ruby felt the entire building shake as the firetruck-sized scorpion forced its way through the garage door, crumbling a decent amount of the doorway and ripping a door off as it went.

Ruby didn't hesitate, loading a clip of explosive rounds into _WhiteRose_ , slinging her axe over her shoulder,and jumping through the hole in the floor. Ruby checked around her, only finding the acid-splashed remains of legion soldiers flung across the room. Ruby heard the thud of boots on the ground next to her. _"_ _Well kid, looks like we have cover from the legion..._ _"_

Ruby nodded without responding. Her head was pounding. She could feel herself sweating under her armor, and every movement caused a spike of fire through the back of her skull. She took a step towards the open doorway, only to fall to a knee panting. She felt as Ghost wrapped an arm around her midsection, shortly before being hauled over the larger Ranger's shoulder.

Ruby felt as she was carried up the stairs, past the piles of dead scorpions, back up to the firefighters' barracks. She was lowered into a cot, her coat and helmet removed. Ruby couldn't move; her arms weighed a metric ton each. She could only lay there and feel as Ghost rolled her sleeve up. Ruby felt the slight prick of a pair of needles, much like a stimpack, only this one wasn't followed by the wave of pressurized relief that came with the medical injectors. Instead, she felt as if she was being drained, followed by a shock of energy as whatever had been drawn out was replaced rapidly.

Ruby sat up, vision clearing. She could see that Ghost had hooked her up to what looked like a transfusion bag she was holding at roughly head level above the younger Ranger. The bag's contents were a deep yellow-orange, with more and more red coming in one end and more of the golden orange entering her body through the other. Ghost dug into her pocket with one hand, pulling out an orange prescription bottle with the word 'Rad-X' scrawled across the label. She opened the bottle, pouring out the last two pills and handing them to Ruby. "Here ya go kid, take those."

Ruby took the pills, following them up with a swig from her canteen. She could feel her strength slowly returning as the Rad-Away made it's way through her system methodically. Within a few minutes, the bag only held deep red and green irradiated blood. "Ready to get moving?" Ruby asked, swinging her legs over the cot and reattaching her helmet. The young Ranger stood up, only for a rush of vertigo to force her back to sitting.

Ruby watched as Ranger pulled another thing out of her coat; a small medical syringe full of purple liquid. "Alright kid, hold still. It's just some Med-X; you're going to be a little bit floaty for about half an hour, but you should be able to at least walk straight." Ruby thought for a moment, before nodding and offering her arm to Ghost. The needle was twice the size of a stimpack one; Ruby bit down hard on her lip as the thin metal dug deep.

Within seconds of removal, Ruby could feel the pain across her body dulling. She rolled her sleeve back down, grabbing her coat and slipping it over her arms. "Alright." Ruby stepped to her feet, feeling relieved by the lack of pain. "Let's get moving."

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Ruby smiled as the edge of town came into view. She and Ghost had managed to avoid the legion and the scorpion, seeing no sign of either other than bodies, bloodstains, and prints on the ground going the opposite direction. Ruby stepped past the final building, feeling as the irradiated air of the town began to lighten, and the long-since drowned out clicking of the Geiger counter began to slow down.

Ruby tuned into the wide-range Ranger com signal. "This is Ranger Rose and Ranger Ghost. We're on the edge of Searchlight. Does anyone copy, over?"

Ruby heard little more than static through the earpiece. She was about to close the channel, when a quiet sound pierced the wall of interference. _"Rangers… Reached Air Force B… Hold pos… Evacuation inb-"_ The channel cut out, leaving Ruby in the static once more.

Ruby looked over to Ranger Ghost. "Did you hear that?"

Ghost nodded. "Looks like we have a ride." The Ranger sat down, leaning against a large rock. "Stand down Rose; we just need to kill a bit of time."

Ruby looked out to the west. The sun was dancing along the edge of the Sierra Madres, slowly casting long shadows over the Mojave basin. "Looks like sunset is almost here."

Ghost nodded. "It sure seems that way." She said as she took her helmet off. The ranger reached into her coat, pulling out a small metal cannister, a roll of paper, and a lighter. Ruby sat down next to the Ranger, watching as she opened up the tin and pulled a few pinches of dark material out and onto the piece of paper. A smell that Ruby only recognized from her father's study hit her nose with full force; the smell of tobacco. Ghost rolled the cigarette, lighting one end and taking a long draw, holding it in before letting a ring of smoke float out of her mouth slowly. She raised the lit cigarette towards Ruby, who raised an outward hand and shook her head calmly. Ghost shrugged, taking another puff and relaxing against the chunk of sandstone. "Well, I think that's the closest a living Ranger has been to the Legate himself before..."

Ruby looked over at Ghost, curious. "The man in the armor?"

Ghost nodded. "Legate Lanius. The bloody right hand of Caesar. He is the most brutal man between here and… well, anywhere. He once disciplined a group of soldiers by having them fight to the death… first tenth of the group to die were left up on crosses burning while the others marched the rest of the journey barefoot."

Ruby winced in empathetic pain. "I've seen him once before… He was the one out in Nipton the night you and Jackson saved my butt."

"Than you know exactly why we're staying as far away as we physically can from that monstrosity." Ghost noted, taking a final drag from her cigarette before flicking it away into the desert sands.

Ruby gazed tiredly towards the town, only for the hundred-degree desert heat to drain away in a flash of cold dread. She could see legion banners held high, barely poking out above the single-story buildings. She nudged Ghost, pointing silently towards the town as she locked her helmet back on her head. The older Ranger nodded, putting on her own helmet and following as Ruby took cover behind the pile of rock they had been resting on.

Ruby looked through her scope, counting off heads of legionnaires as they passed into her sight. While they did look worn out to a certain extent, every man she saw was on the far end of her 'do-not-piss-off' scale, wearing armor of heavy, high-quality metal pounded to match the appearance of over-chiseled abdominal muscles. At the back of the group was the Legate himself, towering almost a foot and a half above the rest of his soldiers. "I count at least three dozen… seems a bit small."

 _"_ _Probably his personal honor guard; the main force probably fell back to organize a proper push on the outpost out west._ _"_ Ghost said, locking a clip into her rifle. _"Alright kid, we have one shot… Load up explosive rounds and wait for my call. We're going to have to time this so perfectly that it'll-"_

Ghost was cut off as the roar of a pair of engines echoed across the wasteland, followed by two blurs shooting past her and Ruby at over a hundred miles per hour.

Ruby looked back into her scope, watching as two blurs shot across the distance between her position and the town, one red, black, and white, the other bright yellow. The first blur came to a stop first, and Ruby watched with a grin as Weiss and Blake dismounted the motorbike with a sidecar, weapons at the ready. Ruby's smile turned into a horrified stare as she watched the second motorbike veer to the side, catch a rock at a vertical angle, and go soaring into the air at full speed.

Ruby focused her sight on the now airborne bike, noticing a slightly beat up set of T-45 power armor sitting on the black and yellow chassis. The armored driver shifted forwards, flipped over the handlebars, and dragged the weight of the bike overhead, hurling it towards the group of legion troops…

...only for the Legate to reach an arm out, catching the ballistic vehicle with one hand.

The Legate repositioned the bike in both hands, heaving its weight over his head and hurling it straight back at the power-armor clad rider. It went flying end-over-end, the front tire impacting the driver square in the chest. The armored being flew backwards, sprawling across the desert ground as their helmet went flying. Ruby caught a glimpse of bright blond hair from the sprawled out power armor user, only for it to be blocked out by Blake running recklessly towards the incident.

Ruby immediately opened up a wave of covering fire, armor-piercing rounds catching the still-shocked legionnaires in either the head or the chest. "Cover me." She stated, not waiting for Ghost to respond as she vaulted over the rocks and spin around. Ruby jumped, firing the final round in her clip down into the ground as she did so. The parting gift she loaded in every clip first, a handmade high-explosive round, detonated with the force of a grenade, flinging Ruby with minimal control across the battlefield. As she soared, she slung the rifle over her back, drawing the _Blackhawk_ in her right hand and her axe in the left.

Ruby fired a single round from her revolver, spinning back around to face the battle. She landed with a roll, driving the spiked end of her axe into the ground and skidding to a halt. Ruby came up to one knee, leveling her revolver and firing off the remaining five shots. The bullets flew past Blake and Weiss' positions, clustering in the chests of two legionnaires that quickly fell to the ground.

Weiss turned around, her RCW at hip-level, trained on Ruby. "Hold it right there, NCR! I am not afraid to open fire if you get any closer!"

Ruby shook her head, grinning under the helmet as she stepped forwards.

Weiss tensed up, raising the laser submachine gun to her shoulder and leveling the sights on Ruby's head. "NOT ANOTHER STEP! I MEAN IT!"

Ruby looked closer at Weiss as she took another step forward, the battle around her phasing out of focus. She could see that Weiss had recently been in combat; minor scrapes and bruises across the face, a distinct lack of makeup, and a surprising amount of frays and tears across the normally pristine pre-war suit she was clad in. Through the dust and dirt across her face, there appeared to be tracks running from the corners of her eyes to the bottom of her face. Weiss, who was now shaking as tears began to run down her cheeks, began to charge the rifle, it's drum spinning around the energy cell. "WHERE IS SHE?!" Weiss screamed at the top of her lungs. "I KNOW SHE WAS NEAR YOU RANGERS WHEN YOUR FRIENDS STARTED GUNNING DOWN PEOPLE IN FREESIDE YESTERDAY, SO I SWEAR TO GOD IF SHE'S HURT I'LL KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU FUCKING BAS-"

Ruby dropped her weapons, ripping off her helmet as she reached Weiss. She knocked the gun out of the white-haired girl's hand, embracing the panicked heiress tightly as the tears began to well up in the young Ranger's eyes. "So all it takes to get you to yell about me is anarchy across the Mojave? I wish I knew it was that easy..."

Weiss froze for a moment, before wrapping her arms around Ruby and letting her weight fall into her lover. She could feel the rough, worn leather of her coat, it's weight and bulk feeling much more protective than the simple jumpsuit she had previously seen Ruby in. She dug her face into Ruby's neck, falling to her knees as the slightly taller markswoman dragged Weiss behind the bike for cover.

Ruby pulled out of the hug first, looking sideways at Weiss and smiling. "You holding together babe?"

Weiss nodded. "The NCR started pushing with troops on Freeside and the strip. They were using..." Weiss hesitated for a moment, shaking her head violently as if to get the image out of her head. "The people were in rags and scraps, and they were using cattle prods and a fucking _tank_."

Ruby placed a hand on Weiss' shoulder in an attempt to comfort the shaken woman. "Where are the others? Veronica, Liz, the dogs..."

"We were on the way towards Cottonwood, but a sandstorm hit us on the road. Liz called everyone to swing north towards the Boomers, but Yang kept saying that she heard your voice on her bike's radio, so we pushed through with her here."

Ruby nodded, slinging her rifle off of her shoulder and loading a clip of explosive rounds into it. "Alright, I'd love to lay down and chat for a bit, but there _are_ a few more pressing issues at the moment." To punctuate her point, an explosion sounded mere feet away, shaking the bike they were using for cover. "You have anything to lay down covering fire?"

Weiss nodded. "I have it handled."

Ruby smiled, grabbing her axe and revolver off of the ground and replacing them in their respective places. "Alright, try and make sure I don't get killed immediately if you don't mind; I have a sister to check on, and a legion to kill."

Ruby prepared to stand up, only to feel Weiss grab her hand. She turned to ask what she was doing, only for her question to be caught by Weiss' lips. The heiress kissed Ruby deeply for a moment, before pulling away and nodding, smile on her face. "Don't die please."

Ruby smirked back briefly before locking her helmet back in place. "I'll do my best." With that, the Ranger-Huntress cycled a round into her rifle's chamber, vaulted over the motorcycle cover, and opened fire on the Legate's honor guard as she charged into battle.

The first round caught a legionnaire in the knee, blowing the hit leg off and sending him flying head-over-heel into a pile of pre-war debris. Ruby fired again, this round impacting the ground at the Legate's feet. To her surprise, the man barely flinched, only stumbling back a couple of steps as three of his soldiers surrounded him, shields and spears up.

Ruby skidded to a stop halfway between Weiss and the legion line, behind a large pile of rocks that Blake and Yang were covering behind. She could see that yang had abandoned the armor, and was covered in burns, scrapes, and bruises of varying levels of intensity. Ruby didn't even take off her helmet, instead just pulling off her mask as she tapped Yang on the shoulder. "Hey sis, how's it go-EEP!"

Ruby froze mid sentence as a shotgun barrel was pushed between her eyes. Within a second of the gun pushing against her skull, it was pulled away, replaced by a tight hug from Yang. "Ruby! Thank goodness you're alright!"

Ruby nodded, pulling away from the hug. "Yup, alive and more-or-less well." She looked up at Blake, smiling warmly. "You tow alright?"

Blake and Yang both nodded. "We managed to get a decent amount of Freeside evacuated through the garage, but the NCR took the entire city by storm."

Ruby nodded. "Alright, I'm going to need a hand out there; a Ranger Vertibird should be here soon, but we can't just sit here while Caesar's second in command is a grenade-toss away."

Yang attempted to sit up, wincing in pain and immediately returning to the ground. "Is that what that damn thing is? I assumed something that could catch my fucking bike was some kind of robot, mutant, or both."

Ruby put a hand on Yang's leg calmly. "Sis, how many grenades do you have?"

Yang reached for a small bag around Blake's waist, unclipping it and unzipping the front. "About a dozen."

Ruby nodded as she snapped her mask back on. "Alright, can you try and cover us while the Stims kick in? You _did_ just get hit in the face by a motorcycle."

Yang nodded. "Raise some hell, sis. Hey babe..."

Blake looked down at Yang, catching a quick peck on the cheek from the blonde brawler. "I love ya."

Blake nodded, pulling her own helmet on, the bright yellow lights glowing brightly. "I love you too."

Ruby and Blake split around the barricade, the black and gray clad Faunus taking left and the Ranger markswoman taking right. To their surprise, the legion troops had stopped firing whatever ramshackle firearms they had, and instead the two dozen remaining soldiers were only thirty meters out with melee weapons at the ready. Ruby fired off the remaining six explosive rounds in her rifle, blowing holes through a quarter of the enemy force. Ruby watched as Blake's handgun rounds hit the heavy chest plates of the soldiers, either bouncing off or leaving wounds too small to notice. Once within ten meters of the pair, the legionnaires charged at once, weapons at the ready.

Ruby slung her rifle back over her shoulder, drawing her axe and holding it with both hands. She raised it to block as the closest legionnaire raised his machete to attack, only for his head to explode inwards as a sniper round went flying through it. Ruby nodded, remembering to thank ghost later as she swung her axe low at the next legionnaire. The blade caught at the bottom of the chest armor, digging deep into the abdomen and throwing the man to the ground. Ruby swung overhead, bringing the axe down on his skull with a satisfying crunch.

Blake tossed _Light Shining_ into her left hand, ejecting the clip and replacing it with one full of AP rounds as she drew her kukuri in her right. She lunged at the closest soldier, burying her blade in the man's neck and raising him as a shield. She felt the weapons of three other legionnaires bury themselves in her shield's back as she ripped the blade out, kicked the man square in the chest, and fired two rounds into the helmet of each of the surprised soldiers behind him.

Blake heard the legionnaire behind her before she saw him. She holstered her pistol, threw her blade backwards, and spun around to face the man. Her kukuri had dug deep into his leg, forcing him to drop his own spear and bend over slightly in an attempt to dig the blade out of his leg.

Big mistake.

Blake raised a fist, bringing it down hard in his right temple. Hours of hand-to-hand training with Yang, mixed with the solid steel studs built into her gauntlets, created the immediate effect of the man's jaw popping out of place and skull fracturing around the impact. Blake followed through with her left hand, bringing it up fast and shattering what remained of the man's jaw. She reached down with her right hand, grabbing the handle of her knife and ripping it out of the bone in his leg before slashing it across his throat and kneeing him in the stomach, throwing him dead to the ground.

Ruby and Blake got back-to-back as the wave of legionnaires surrounded them. Ruby drew her revolver, firing all six rounds but only downing a pair of men. Ruby lifted her axe, ready to swing for her life…

...as the ten armed legionnaires in front of her were vaporized to ash instantly.

Ruby acted on reflex, grabbing Blake by the collar and hitting the deck. As she did so, a barrage of bright green laser bolts filled the air above them with the smell of ozone. Ruby looked up, only to find she and Blake were surrounded by a pile of glowing green ash. She looked back towards Weiss' position, where the heiress in question appeared to be in the process of removing the backpack section of a Gatling laser and placing it back in the sidecar.

Ruby looked back towards the town, where the only man left standing was the Legate himself. Ruby felt a hand close on her shoulder, and looked to see Yang standing next to her, massive hammer slung over her shoulder and _Two-Step_ strapped onto her arm. "Ready sis?"

Ruby nodded, putting a finger to he coms button. "Ghost, hold fire. We got this."

 _"_ _I don't have a choice; all out of ammo_ _. I'll keep an eye out for that air support._ _"_ Ghost responded, killing the com channel.

Ruby couldn't help but smile with pride as she looked at her team. "Alright, we're the only thing at the moment between the Mojave and that monster of a man. Team RWBY… let's show him that some atrocities can't go without punishment." And with that, team RWBY charged to meet Legate Lanius on the battlefield.

Ruby loaded her last clip into her rifle; an alternating clip between armor piercing and hollow-point rounds. Weiss drew her Shishkebab, igniting the blade with a flourish. Blake drew her dual pistols, making sure both were loaded with a full AP clip. Yang pumped her fist, making sure a belt of explosive shells was feeding into _Two-Step_. Ruby watched as the Legate stepped forwards, massive sword held in both hands as he plated a foot down hard about twenty feet away from the team. Ruby looked at her teammates, nodding to each of them in succession. "FREEZERBURN, LADYBUG, MOVE IN!"

Weiss and Yang charged at the Legate head-on. The man roared at the top of his lungs, taking a heavy stance and swinging hard in a horizontal arc. Weiss slid on her knees, swinging her burning blade at the man's legs as she passed. Her blade merely caused sparks as it bounced off of the heavy metal plates, leaving a scratch on the gold and red paint. Yang flew in overhead, slamming her hammer down hard with both hands and a boost. The twenty pound chunk of steel connected hard on the legate's left shoulder, causing armor plates to go flying as he lost half of the grip on his sword.

As the Legate spun around to face Yang and Weiss, Ruby and Blake opened fire on his back. Ruby watched as the armor piercing rounds hit the plates of metal before crumpling and falling to the ground without a mark on the massive warrior. Ruby fired her final round, surprised to see the HP round had caught something in the middle of the armor's back. She peered through her scope, smiling as she caught sight of the red lightning bolt symbol of a fusion core.

Yang and Weiss split to the sides, Weiss dashing back towards the team as Yang took another swing. She gripped her hammer in both hands, pulled the thrust, and aimed straight for the Legate's head…

...Just as he reached his left hand up, catching the super sledge mid-swing.

Yang didn't have time to react as the hammer was yanked inwards, her with it. She felt the Legate's foot come up fast, connecting with her stomach and sending her flying backwards towards the ruined town.

Yang felt bones crack as she flew through a brick wall, a layer of drywall and wooden supports, a bookshelf. And a second brick wall. She landed in a pile of rubble, head spinning. She tried to sit up, only for a flaming spike of pain to shoot through her left side. She looked down, seeing double briefly before managing to focus on the jagged chunk of steel that had embedded itself between two of her ribs. She pulled a stimpack out of her pocket, jamming it into her ribs a couple of inches away from the shrapnel. She tore a chunk of fabric off of her tank top, biting down hard and suppressing a scream as she pulled the piece of metal out slowly, attempting to match the speed of the stimpack repairs.

After the agonizing process of removing the shrapnel, Yang managed to get to her feet. She looked in the direction she had been thrown from, where a large hole had been punched cleanly through the house that had managed to dampen her landing. She stepped through the hole, walking through the pre-war building and coming out on the other side.

Yang could see the rest of the team attempting to attack the Legate. The three circled the massive man, attempting to distract him and opening windows for the ignored ones to strike. Ruby darted backwards, avoiding a downward blow from the enormous blade. As he recovered from the strike, Weiss and Blake struck out with their close combat equipment, which appeared to do little more than anger the man more.

Yang picked her hammer up off of the ground where the Legate had tossed it. She lifted the weapon with both hands, deciding to reduce the risk of grenading her own team into oblivion and charging into close combat as well. "OUT OF THE WAY!"

Weiss and Blake rolled out of the way just as Yang came flying by, swinging her hammer with full force just as the Legate was raising his blade for another lunge at Ruby. The hammer connected with full force right between the man's shoulder blades, but Yang heard no sign of bones breaking. Instead, she was surprised to hear the mechanical whirring of a power armor frame going into overdrive.

"Fall back!" Ruby called, walking backwards quickly but never taking her eyes off of the armored Legate. The rest of team RWBY followed, using their higher mobility to their advantage as they placed a relatively safe distance between themselves and the massive Legate, who seemed to take a moment to breathe as well.

Blake panted heavily, putting a hand on Yang's shoulder and leaning in for support. "We're not doing any damage." She said, disheartened.

Yang shook her head. "No, we're doing something; we're wearing him out. Ruby, did you notice anything strange about the big guy?"

Ruby nodded. "He's in a set of power armor that would make Veronica jealous."

Weiss spoke up, stress-fueled cynicism taking the reins. "Ok, we know _how_ he's kicking our asses, and that's about it."

Ruby shook her head. "Think about it; power armor has a fusion core powering it. Those things are nuclear. We shake that thing up with enough explosives and BOOM! Dead Legate." With that, Ruby pulled one of the last grenades off of her belt; the frag she had found in town with a white cross painted across its surface. "Distract him, piss him off, and get him to fall over for a few seconds. Checkmate, go!"

Weiss and Blake nodded, drawing weapons and darting at the recovering Legate. Weiss slung her RCW off of her shoulder, slamming an overcharged battery into the drum and opening fire. To her disappointment, the laser bolts didn't melt straight through the metal, instead dispersing across the surface of the armor and heating it to red-hot conditions. Weiss continued drawing the Legate's attention, darting side to side to avoid his blows as he charged at her. She came to a stop, landing on one knee and focusing her fire on the center of the man's mass. The legate continued to charge, shrugging the laser fire off as if it were nothing and getting about ten feet from Weiss…

...as Blake vaulted over Weiss' shoulders, deactivated her stealth unit midair, and planted her feet with a full-forced kick to the Legate's face.

The Legate fell backwards with Blake's momentum and weight, hitting the ground with an earth-shaking thud. Weiss and Blake made a run for Ruby and Yang, clearing away from the Legate as he attempted to stand up. Ruby weighed the grenade in her hand, reaching to pull the pin. Suddenly, the earth shook once more, this time on a much larger scale. Ruby looked up towards the Legate's position, watching with confusion as the ground caved in underneath the man, and he disappeared out of sight.

Ruby turned to face her team, nodding. "Well, I guess that takes care of that. Now, if we sit tight and wait for air support to come in..."

The earth shook once more, and Ruby watched as the collapsed earth the Legate had fallen into exploded outwards, with the scorpion from town emerging from underground.

Ruby shook her head, backing towards Ghost's position. "Alright team, as your brave and noble leader, I call for a tactical retreat. Now RUN FOR IT!"

The entire team began sprinting away from the building-sized scorpion. Ruby heard an ear-splitting hiss, followed by a wet splash. She looked over her shoulder, watching as the scorpion began scuttling forwards, swinging it's tail and catapulting globs of acid towards the retreating team.

Ruby looked down at the grenade in her hand, shrugging. _'What the hell, might as well try...'_ "Yang! Batter up!" With that, she pulled the pin, counted two seconds, and tossed the grenade towards her sister.

Yang tracked the grenade through the air, swinging her hammer with both hands and activating the thrust just as the grenade hit the peak of it's ark. She hit the grenade with the direct center of the hammer's head, sending it flying towards the scorpion at near-bullet speed. The scorpion opened it's maw to roar once more, only to catch the grenade directly between its mandibles.

Ruby looked over her shoulder half-heartedly, not expecting the small explosive to do much but irritate the beast more. To her surprise, the scorpion slowed its sprint, attempting to burrow underground once more…

...before erupting into a fiery six-story mushroom cloud.

The force of the explosion caught Team RWBY off-guard, sending them sprawling to the ground as the earth shook with the force of a small nuclear detonation. Ruby was the first to regain her footing, looking back over the carnage the team of four had caused. About three dozen dead legionnaires lay scattered across the wasteland ground, with the curled-outwards remains of the detonated scorpion marking the centerpiece of the skirmish. Ruby looked over the chaos, fell to her knees, and began to chuckle.

Weiss, Blake, and Yang sat down hard around their team leader. The group lay there on the desert ground, talking about the events since they had last seen each other until the whirring of a Vertibird engine could be heard coming in from the north.

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 _A.N.:_ _Well, that ended up being a lot fucking longer than I intended. I just couldn't stand to put another chapter between this one and the Fort, so I crammed about two chapters worth of stuff into this one. That said, it's time for the one part of the game that I actually play the story for; the Fortification Hill infiltration. I don't have much to say here, and it's almost one in the morning as I'm writing this, so I'm going to call it here. Thank you all for reading, please feel free to PM/Review with ideas (I have a general plan for next chapter, but ideas are welcome), and just remember you Scavs; keep on fighting the good fight!_

 _Until next time,_

 _~DovahCourier117_


	32. Chapter 32 - The Fort

_A.N._ _: Hello Readers, DovahCourier here! W_ _help, here it is; Fortification Hill.. Caesar's home base. If I'm timing this right, it should be somewhere near the two-year anniversary of this fic's creation… *insert something poetic, cute, or otherwise effort-taking here. I'm exhausted, am faking doing homework, and just semi-cried through a show finale, so I'm just going to start writing and let my brain turn off for a few hours*_

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 _ **I don't own anything!**_ _ **The Fallout universe belongs to Bethesda/Black Isle/Obsidian,**_ _ **and**_ _ **RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth.**_ _ **A**_ _ **ll I own is the laptop I'm writing on, the original ideas I throw into this mix, and a few metric tons of crippling anxiety!**_

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The Tale of Dust and Sand

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Thirty-two: The Fort

Yang woke up feeling like she had been thrown through a house. She shifted in bed slowly, realizing she felt that way because she _had_ been thrown through a house. After getting hit in the chest with her own motorcycle. Thrown by a beast of a man in a set of power armor, despite being part of a technology-hating cult. _'When the hell did life get this weird?'_ She asked herself, looking around. She was sitting in a barracks at the Boomers' air-force base, laying on the bottom bunk of a simple military cot. She attempted to roll towards the edge of the bed to swing her legs over, but found herself trapped under an arm pinned to her midsection.

Blake had woken up less than five minutes before Yang, and had decided to attempt to maximize her time in bed with her big busty blonde best friend. The cat Faunus felt Yang shifting to stand up, and immediately responded by tightening her grip and reeling in her catch of the day. She spooned against Yang, feeling the ever-present heat of her lover as she wrapped both arms around her midsection. "Morning sunflower."

Yang groaned slightly, snuggling deeper into Blake's embrace. "And good morning to you my little pussy cat."

Yang felt Blake bite at her upper earlobe with a mix of playfulness and irritation. "Don't go… stay for a bit..."

Yang attempted to shake out of Blake's grip playfully, only to fail and sink farther into the woman's embrace. "Fine, your mighty embrace has trapped me!" Yang let out, bringing her voice up an octave.

Blake buried her face in Yang's golden locks, smiling as she inhaled the mix of cinnamon, lemon, and sunshine. Yang flipped around, smiling inches from Blake's face. "What did I do to earn someone like you?"

Blake chuckled. "Fought a pair of Ursai loudly enough to get my attention, made eye contact with me, helped shoot a giant bird out of the sky..." Yang leaned in, planting a fast kiss on Blake's cheek. "...Helped me calm down and relax when I was about to snap, brought me to my first dance..." Yang darted in again with a quick kiss to Blake's lips. "...and made me realize that the person of my dreams wasn't on the other side of the world, but was the woman I had been sharing a dorm room with me for months." With this comment, Blake moved in first, catching Yang's lips with her own as she rolled top of the blonde.

Blake only pulled out of the passionate lock to breathe as she sat up from her position and straddled Yang's midsection. She looked down at the blonde, amber eyes locking with lilac ones. "You helped me realize that life isn't about solving all of the world's problems alone. It's about enjoying the small things while you can, and making it into your own adventure." To Blake's surprise, Yang's eyes had began to water. "Babe, are you ok? I didn't meant to-"

Yang cut Blake off, grabbing her around the midsection and flipping her sideways, back onto the empty section of bed next to her. Yang followed through by resting her forehead against Blake's, smiling while tears welled in her eyes. "I've never heard someone put my stance on life so perfectly. I think this proves it."

"Proves what?" Blake asked, slight confusion seeping through with her voice.

"That you are the person I want to spend the rest of my life with."

Blake lay there for a moment contemplating, before smiling and snuggling in closer to Yang. "Does that mean what I assume it means?"

Yang smirked, shrugging. "Well, since I couldn't find anything even resembling a decent ring, and the fact that marriage is more-or-less pointless out here… no. It's not quite a proposal." The blonde planted a kiss right on the tip of Blake's nose. "It's a promise. A promise to stay at your side, no matter what. A promise to do anything and everything within my power to do whatever you need from me. A promise to be there when you need it, and to be strong enough to say when I need you." Yang reached out her right arm, cupping Blake's cheek as more tears began to flow from joy. "A promise to be yours."

Blake smiled, nodding vigorously as she too began to tear up. "A promise to be yours." She echoed, the pure ecstatic happiness overwhelming her as she kissed Yang deeply, cupping the blonde's face in her hand.

Yang sat up with a wild grin as she pulled Blake up with her. "Well that settles it; we belong to each other, from now until the end."

Blake laughed, cuddling up sideways next to Yang and planting her head on her lover's shoulder. "I always pictured my wedding day would be a bit bigger. Everyone from both families plus some, music, dad being territorial as usual..."

Yang frowned, a drop of sweat rolling down her brow. "And is this as good as that? An unofficial union made in a cot in the corner of a military base on another world?"

Blake shook her head against Yang's shoulder. "No..." She gripped Yang tighter. "It's a million times better, plus some."

"OH MY GOD IT'S SO ADORA-AGH!"

Yang and Blake looked up to find that the top bunk's occupants had managed to fall out of the bed, landing in a red and white pile on the concrete floor. Yang and Blake leaned forward, watching as Ruby and Weiss attempted to untangle themselves from each other as they stood up. Ruby stood in front of Yang, grinning from ear to ear and jumping with excitement. "SIS I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!"

Yang smiled, raising a hand above her head. Ruby acted immediately, high-fiving her sister. Weiss shook her head, smirking and rolling her eyes. "Saw this coming from a mile away." She sat down next to Blake, smiling warmly. "Congratulations. She's a keeper."

Blake nodded, still wiping away tears of joy. "She's everything I want out of life. I love her."

"You're going to make a great… um..." Weiss hesitated for a moment. "...well, Yang said this isn't exactly a marriage. But you're obviously more than dating..."

Yang wrapped an arm around Yang's shoulder, pulling the Faunus to her side. "I don't care about whatever the hell you label us as, but I'm just going to call her Blake."

Blake nodded, leaning her weight into Yang and smiling. "Who needs a proper title anyways?"

Blake and Yang got out of bed, joining Ruby and Weiss as the team made their way towards the door.

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Weiss held on tight to Ruby's arm as the Vertibird began to lift off the ground. Ruby rubbed the heiress' thigh, leaning in close and whispering in her ear. "Are you ok?"

Weiss shook her head, tightening up and curling farther into Ruby. "Crash." She said, voice shaking.

"Hey' don't worry Ice Queen; there's no way this bird is going down like our first one!" Yang said, shooting Weiss a thumbs up.

"And how do you know that?" Weiss asked, both defensively and nervously.

A shit-eating grin grew across Yang's face. "Well for one, you aren't flying!"

The cabin was dead silent for a solid ten seconds before the entire team broke down, laughing harder than they had in a long time.

Ruby looked back down at her loadout. She had left the ranger armor at the base; even with her pardon from Caesar for her and her allies, Liz didn't want to risk irritating anyone at the fort any more than needed. She was clad in a plain t-shirt and jeans, with lightweight leather armor strapped over her legs, arms, and chest. She had decided to value mobility over damage, leaving her heavy equipment back at base and settling on her 10mm in her shoulder holster and her markswoman carbine across her back. Weiss had her Shishkebab by her side, as well as her plasma pistol and a belt of Ruby's MFC clusters. Blake was in her police set, with nothing but her kukuri, her Stealth-Boy, and both of her .45-Autos. Yang was in a simple leather set much like Ruby's, with her sawed-off on her left hip and _Two-Step_ strapped to her right arm.

Suddenly, the intercom on the wall of the Vertibird crackled, Liz's voice coming through. _"Check one-two, can you hear us?"_

Yang stepped up to the com, hitting the button to respond. "This is Fireball here. We hear you loud and clear, bullet sponge delivery girl."

 _"If you call me that again we're shooting you out of the sky."_ Liz said, exasperated. _"Anyway, you four ready to go over the plan one more time?"_

"Lay it on us thick-skull." Yang responded, smirking.

 _"We're going to be dropping right between Searchlight and the cove. I'll be able to get us up the river for a meeting with Caesar, where we'll barter_ _for_ _the Platinum_ _Chip and see what House has in store for us underground._ _"_

"And what about that smiling idiot you stole from Benny and shoved into a holotape?" Yang inquired.

Liz stayed silent for a moment. _"I'm not sure. I don't care about some crackpot swinging gambler's fantasy of a Vegas filled to the brim with nothing but booze, caps and tits. But that'd be better than House's rule at the moment..."_

Yang coughed, cutting the Courier off. "It's fine; we'll plan something out later. Where's our way out?"

 _"That's where we come in, darling."_ This time, the voice on the far end of the communication line was Veronica's. _"Cass, Boone, Christine, Ghost and I will stay in this bird while yours heads back to base. We'll be watching from a distance, and within flare distance if anything goes south."_

"And if things go _REALLY_ bad?" Yang asked.

 _"We have a radio beacon from the Boomers; plant it, turn it on, and fly the hell out of the way before the hammer of the gods comes crashing in from Nellis."_ Veronica responded, sounding almost excited.

The radio conversation was cut off as the Boomer pilot of team RWBY's Vertibird hijacked the signal. _"Thank you for flying air Boomers; we are approaching our LZ, estimated time to touchdown..."_ Weiss' fingernails dug into Ruby's skin as the aircraft was met with a sudden, violent jolt. _"About two seconds ago. Have a good day!"_

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Liz led the team over the crest of a hill, looking down into the slowly declining canyon that led into Cottonwood Cove. Ruby could immediately see a line of pre-war telephone poles, stretching along the road every hundred feet or so all the way to the cove, each with a body chained and nailed to the crosses on top of them. Weiss almost screamed, biting her lip and steeling her will as she followed the Courier past the unlucky dead. Yang averted her eyes, focusing on the suddenly attention-hungry asphalt below her feet. Blake glared at each body, noting any ones that were still struggling to die of the heat and firing a single, clean shot between their eyes if needed.

Liz came to a stop, raising a fist. Team RWBY followed suit, all peeking out around the Courier. In front of the woman stood a group of legionnaires; four in standard armor, a super mutant clad in chains with a drum in his hands and a banner on a pole flying from his back, and a man in red dyed furs and a hood. The hooded man stepped forward, a hand out to stop the group approaching. "Halt! This is Caesar's sacred land. Turn back, or be made examples of like those along the road."

Liz stepped forward calmly, reaching into her pocket and drawing out a small wooden medallion. She handed the piece to the legionnaire, who looked down at it before nodding curtly. He signaled to his men, who surrounded the courier and Team RWBY without drawing weapons. "We will escort you to the docs." The man said, beginning to walk. The team and the Courier followed suit, with the legion squad marching around them to the beat of the mutant's drum. "You will be sent up river to the mighty Caesar's encampment."

Ruby watched as the group was led down the road, past a temporary wall of rock and pre-war scrap, and head-first into a legion encampment. Ruby corrected herself, realizing this was less of a camp and more of a small city of tents filled with thousands of ex-tribal warriors armed to the teeth. Ruby shook her head, screwing her eyes closed and clenching her fists hard enough for her nails to dig into her palms. She felt a soft hand rest on her shoulder, followed by a cool breath against her ear. "It's ok babe, we won't be here long."

Ruby spoke up through gritted teeth. "Weiss… you see the grenade on my belt? The one with the white cross on it?"

"What about it?" Weiss asked, confused.

"Take it off my belt and keep it on you." Ruby responded.

Weiss did so reluctantly, unclipping the grenade from Ruby's left side belt and shoving it in a jacket pocket. "Why did I do that?"

Ruby almost chuckled. "So I don't throw it if I don't need to."

The group was led through the heart of the camp, glares from thousands of soldiers burning into them as they were herded towards the docks. The legionnaire in front came to a stop at the edge of the beach, gesturing towards the dock and stepping to the side. Behind him was a simple raft made of wood and metal with a dozen more legionnaires on it. "You are to step onto the barge and sit down peacefully, surrendering your arms to the officer, and staying silent until otherwise ordered. They will be returned to you upon leaving Fortification Hill."

Liz nodded, waving for Team RWBY to follow her. The group reached the end of the dock, where a pair of legionnaires were waiting by a metal crate bolted to the edge of the barge. Liz drew her pair of 5.56 pistols from inside of her coat, dropping them in the box, followed by a number of assorted knives, a leaver-action brush gun, and her katana and sheath. The team followed suit, leaving all of their weapons in the box as they boarded the raft. The group sat down in the center of the raft, tensing up as they were surrounded by nothing but water, stone, and men in modified sports equipment.

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Three legionnaires jumped off of the edge of the raft, grabbing ropes and hauling the platform onto a rocky shore. Liz and Team RWBY stood up, following as the legion soldiers they had ridden with began marching in formation up the beach towards a path. The path led up a shallow hill, leading towards a towering wooden gate flanked on both sides by closing in stone cliffs. At the gate stood a pair of legionnaires in heavy equipment, who immediately pulled the gates open as the group passed through.

Yang's jaw dropped as the group passed through the gates into the main encampment. The path beyond the gate was an elevated dirt platform, allowing for sight in all directions. Stretching out to the east was a sea of crimson tents; too many to count, reaching from the foot of an upcoming hill out beyond the horizon. Hundreds of fires burned, sending smoke into the air and filling the area with assorted stenches of different fuels, from wood, to rubber, to unspeakable others. In the forefront of the camp was a tall hill with a path winding up it and a wall of scrap metal surrounding the crown.

Yang watched as children, ages ranging from around Ruby's down to the single digits, were forced to climb up and down the steep face of the hill, heavy looking weights on their back. A child tripped, only for a legion officer to walk up behind them and begin screaming downward, cracking a whip overhead. The child turned, dropping the weights and attempting to punch at the man. The legionnaire grabbed him by the throat, lifting him to head level and glaring into his eyes before dropping him to the ground. The group made a turn on the winding path up the hill, blocking Yang's view before she could see the child's fate.

At the top of the path, the legion escort from the barge came to a stop, forming a semi-circle and sandwiching the group between them and the gate into the upper hill. With a loud grinding of gears, the gate hinged backwards, creating a bridge into the inner layer of the fortress. Liz looked back at team RWBY for a moment, before nodding and stepping forward.

The upper section of the encampment was, compared to the rest of the massive operation, surprisingly well maintained. Weiss looked around, taking note of every detail she could. The area had been flattened, with the exception of a second tier of the hill on the far side of the area that towered another story above everything. On top of this sat a massive golden tent, with a dozen guards in matching furs and gauntlets much like Yang's _Two-Step_ strapped to their arms. The center of the area was taken up by a three-walled metal cage, with the fourth made up by the golden tent hill. To the right of the cage was the path, curving around the twisted metal and leading up the hill. To the left, the path went downward, curving behind the hill out of sight. The path was flanked with more permanent looking tents, built up with polished metal and clean crimson canvas, each with what she assumed was a name and rank engraved on a piece of metal hanging next to the closed entry flaps. Weiss did her best to drown out the aggressive grunts and screams of pain out of some of the commanders tents, focusing instead on the towering golden tent before them as the group walked forward.

The group reached the entrance to the golden tent, where a man stepped out through the threshold to meet them. He was clad in a shockingly well maintained outfit; well-made black leather pads of armor with shined brass studs, and what appeared to be a red-brown wolf pelt draped over his back like a cape, with the upper mouth and head acting as a hood. The man stepped forward, greeting Liz with an outstretched hand. "Ah, miss Courier. I see that you have finally decided to take up the great Caesar's offer."

Liz disregarded the man's hand. "Vulpes Inculta, Caesar's personal lapdog… or should I say lap-wolf?" The Courier scowled down at the legion soldier. "I am only here because I have nowhere else to go. I assume your little birds have told you what is happening with the NCR across the river?"

Vulpes nodded. "Yes, we do know of the sudden outburst of violence from the 'peaceful republic'. Now, as for your visit..." The man looked over Liz's shoulder. "I did not say your invitation extended to so many when I granted it to you."

Liz shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a hit with the ladies. Now, onto my business with Caesar?"

Vulpes nodded, snapping his fingers. The guards on either side of the tent entrance jumped into position, grabbing tent flaps and pulling apart the archway into the emperor's tent. "Right this way." The wold-clad warrior said, stepping to the side and gesturing into the tent.

Team RWBY followed Liz into the tent. The first thing Blake saw was the throne; a large, empty seat crafted of bones, pelts, and assorted fabrics. On either side of the throne was a brazier of metal, burning with wood and a human skull in each of the large bowls. The back wall was taken up by a golden canvas, with a bloody red bull splattered across its surface.

"Hey baby, funny seeing you here!"

Blake looked to the right, where a man she had never seen before sat on his knees, chained to the ground by the ankles and wrists. He wore a tacky checkered black and white suit, which was fraying around the edges and covered in assorted stains. Liz stopped in her tracks, glaring over at the man. She immediately stepped towards him, wide smile on his face…

...before slamming her combat boot into his face, solid steel toe first.

The man spit out blood, as well as a few teeth. "Son of a fucking bitch… Well, I guess I deserved that."

Liz shook her head. "You bastard… when I'm done with you, you're going to wish you had put a fucking _nuke_ through my skull." With that, the woman stepped away from the bleeding man. Stopping in the center of the tent before the throne.

The team came to a stop along Liz's side, Ruby and Weiss taking left and Blake and Yang taking right. Blake leaned in, whispering to Liz. "So… that's Benny?"

Liz nodded, still staring at the empty throne. "Yup; that's the man I'm here to kill. Now, where is this all-mighty son of a bitch I've been hearing so much about..."

"Is that any way to speak of your ruler?"

Team RWBY and Liz all turned to the left, surprised to find that a flap into another room of the tent had opened up. Before them stood an older man clad in crimson robes. His hair was almost all gone, that which remained sheered to short silver stubble across his skull. His head held a crown of golden leaves, crafted too look like a natural laurel. Where his robe folded and met his shoulder, a solid gold broach of a bull was pinned to the fabric. "Kneel, now."

Without thinking, Liz and the team dropped to their knees before Caesar. The man smiled, walking past them and sitting down on his throne. Vulpes walked in from behind the team, taking his position standing to the right of the throne. Caesar spoke up, his voice commanding yet understanding. "So, this is the courier I have heard so much of. Tell me, what brings you and your allies to my court?"

"As you said, I'm a courier. You have a package of mine that needs to be delivered." Liz responded smugly.

Caesar reached into his robe, pulling out a very small leather pouch. "Yes, the prisoner I have here..." He nodded towards Benny, who had curled into a ball to nurse his bleeding face. "…brought me this small token. But, to get it, I require you to do something for me."

"What is it?" Liz asked, hesitation in her voice.

"Behind my hill, there is a building from before the world… shifted." Caesar said. "Below it, there is a panel with the number of Vegas' dictator, as well as a slot that perfectly matches the token in this pouch. I want you and your friends here to go down there and destroy whatever the demon has buried."

Liz nodded. "Alright, and for this I get the poker chip back?"

Caesar nodded. "You will be free to leave with the chip."

"I want one more thing."

"And what would that be?" Caesar asked, raising an eyebrow and shifting in his throne.

Liz nodded towards Benny. "Him. Dead. My way."

Caesar thought for a moment, before nodding. "He's all yours. Now, I believe that we were discussing the-" The man was cut off as a man in armor much like Vulpes' came running through the tent, stopping in front of the throne and falling to a knee.

"Ave Caesar!" The newcomer yelled, pounding a fist on his chest. "Sir, we have a situation down at the river that requires your personal attention."

Caesar nodded, standing up. "Go around the back of the hill; you will be given back your weapons at the shed." He tossed the small pouch to Liz, who caught it in one hand. "Do well, and I may be able to provide you with more than you could ever dream of."

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Ruby smiled as she slid a magazine of armor-piercing rounds into her carbine, switching the safety to single fire. The team and Liz were standing in the basement of a concrete building, surrounded by nothing but dripping pipes and a single electronics panel. Liz walked up to the panel, pouring the leather pouch into her hand as she did so. Weiss watched as a single, platinum poker chip fell into the Courier's hand. "That's what we're risking our lives for?! A piece of metal?"

Liz shook her head. "No… we're doing this for Vegas."

Team RWBY watched with slight confusion as Liz placed the chip in a small coin slot in the panel. The piece of metal rattled through like a coin in a vending machine, before coming out of a small slot at the base of the machine. Liz picked it up. Suddenly, the room began to shake. And the wall behind the electronics panel slid open, revealing a staircase going deeper into the hill below the Fort. Liz looked back at the team, nodding in their direction. "Ruby, come with me. The rest of you make sure nobody follows."

The staircase went deep into the earth, much farther down than Ruby remembered climbing up to get to the fort. Every few feet there was a fluorescent light, flickering with age but still glowing from their place on the ceiling. The staircase ended, opening into a small room with a single door next to a large wall-mounted computer terminal, as well as a couple of windows looking out into nothing but darkness. The group stepped towards the terminal, only to jump slightly as it flickered to life. The screen glowed an eerie green, flickering slightly as the face of Robert House formed with it's normal smug grin. A speaker crackled to life, House's charismatic voice echoing through the underground bunker. _"_ _Ah! I see you have gotten the Platinum Chip. Now, if you would please plug it into my terminal here, we can complete your delivery."_

Liz stepped forward, back straight and steps heavy. "Alright, you listen closely you playboy conman. If I plug this chip in right here, what will happen? Details."

House waited for a moment, before speaking up once more. _"It's simple; the Platinum Chip will allow me to upgrade the Securitrons of the Strip to be used to their fullest potenti_ _al by porting their 2.0 OS on a system-wide scale. Improved surveillance, better sensor management, minor weapon upgrades..."_

Liz chuckled, tapping on her Pip-Boy. A holotape appeared in her hand, which she juggled between her fingers. "Mister House, I am shocked!" She exclaimed, hamming up the sarcasm. "I thought a man of your position would be honest about all trade deals!" She snapped to a more serious tone. "That rat Benny, as you know, had a bit of a plan to take over Vegas for himself..."

 _"_ _Where is this going?_ _"_ House asked sternly.

"Well Robert, it's simple; Benny sure as hell wasn't working alone. I'd like you to meet his little informant..." Liz slammed the holotape into House's terminal. Suddenly, the screen was filled with static, only to come back with a jagged line of dead pixels down the center. On the left side was House's normal portrait, but the right was taken over by a cartoon face with a wide smile and big eyes. "...Yes Man, modified Securitron AI."

 _"_ _Hi there!_ _"_ Sounded a chipper voice from the speakers.

House's voice came back on, anger rising. _"What the hell is this? You DARE to plug this into my mainframe?"_

Liz nodded. "Yup. Yes Man here told me what the chip _really_ does… Yes Man, care to shine a bit of light on the situation?"

 _"_ _Certainly!_ _"_ Yes Man said.

Ruby watched as the windows on the sides of the room began to light up. She peeked through, expecting to find nothing but rock. Instead she saw entire caverns filled with Securitrons, lined up and shut off by the thousands.

Liz pounded on the control panel with a closed fist. "The chip allows you to mobilize your _army_ of those damn things, each with a fully operational weapons array that you can point anywhere you want! What would stop you from marching them all across the dam and putting the whole Mojave under your thumb?!"

 _"_ _Exactly!_ _"_ Chimed in Yes Man.

Liz pointed straight at the Yes Man side of the screen. "You don't say a _fucking_ word! You and Benny's plan, while freeing Vegas to an extent, would end up killing most of the people there as well!"

 _"Well what do you plan on doing?! You're just the god-damned delivery woman!"_ House blurted out, beginning to yell.

Liz began to hit buttons on the keyboard, rapidly typing in commands. "Ruby, could you come help?"

Ruby walked over to Liz. "What do you need?"

"Look through that window on the right, tell me what you see on the far side of the cavern."

Ruby walked over to the window in question, looking past the army of deactivated Securitrons. Along the far wall were mountains of ammunition; energy cells, fusion cores, heavy missiles, pistol rounds, and countless other types of munitions. "There's a big pile of ammunition ready to stock up the bots."

"Well House, it is true what they say; the House always wins. The game is always rigged from the start, no matter what. So what can one do?" She raised a pistol, placing the Platinum Chip on the console, directly next to the holotape slot with Yes Man inside before planting her barrel in line with both items. "On behalf of the people of New Vegas, I am doing what the smart gambler should do..."

House began speaking, panic in his voice. _"Wait, I can make you rich! I can get you power! I can…"_

"...and I'm walking away from the table."

 _"DON'T YOU DA-"_

Liz fired.

Ruby took the signal, peeking through her rifle scope and firing at the mountain of ammunition. Immediately, the volatile materials began to react, sparking off, firing, and causing a chain of explosions throughout the cavern. Ruby heard the distorted voices of House and Yes Man, mixing into indistinguishable gibberish as the computer began to spark and flash. Ruby and Liz ran for the door, storming up the stairs as fast as they could as Robert House's hate-filled yells were drowned out by the explosions.

Liz and Ruby reached the top of the staircase, the automated door sealing behind them. The rest of Team RWBY rushed to their side. Yang grabbed Ruby, who leaned in against her sister for support as she regained her breath. "What the hell happened down there? Why is the earth shaking?"

Liz raised her hand, showing the remains of the Platinum Chip between her fingers. The center of the chip had been blown out cleanly, with tiny circuitry still sparking inside. "Just cashed out."

"So… no more House?" Weiss asked.

Liz shook her head. "No, he's just lost his army, but he still holds the Strip, and probably has a standing alliance with the NCR. This is just step one of freeing Vegas from his hold."

A voice called from the top floor of the concrete building. "By order of Caesar, come out with your weapons down!"

Liz raised a hand, silencing the team. "What is the issue? We've just done what the Caesar asked."

"Just come up here. We are under orders to escort you back to his tent." The voice responded, sounding strained.

Ruby nodded to her team. "Keep weapons down, but safeties off."

The group followed Liz up the staircase. In the main room of the building stood three legionnaires; two of the emperor's guards, and one of the spies dressed in pelts. The spy stepped forward. "I am sorry lady Courier, but a situation has caused Caesar to order all guests to return weapons once more and be escorted to his tent. It may be a simple misunderstanding, but his orders are orders." Liz nodded, drawing her pistols and dropping them at her feet. She reached for her rifle, slinging it off her shoulder as the spy continued speaking. "If you will all surrender arms, will lock one of these on you to ensure compliance." The man reached behind his back, pulling out a set of five metal and plastic collars from his bag.

Liz froze halfway through taking her katana off of her belt. The courier looked down at the object in the spy's hand, than back up at the man himself. Ruby watched as the courier began to shake violently, shaking her head rapidly. Without warning Liz screamed, throwing her sheath to the ground and slashing outwards with her katana. She caught the spy in the front of the neck, kicking him backwards as blood began to spray from the slashed throat. Liz lunged at one of the guards, driving her blade through his chest before turning and using him as cover. The second guard punched at the courier, only catching his friend square in the back, causing him to scream in pain as the gauntlet's shotgun shell fired directly into his spine. Liz lunged forward, catching the end of her blade in the second man's gut and forcing both men against the wall before ripping the blade out, swiping hard and decapitating both legionnaires.

Liz picked up the rest of her equipment, sheathing her blade and readying her leaver-action. Without a word, the courier charged out the door, becoming a one-woman storm of lead. Ruby looked over her shoulder at her team, shrugging as she flipped her carbine from semi to full auto. "Plan B, anyone?"

Weiss drew her Shishkebab, igniting the blade. Blake readied her pistols. Yang pumped her fist, cycling a shell. Ruby nodded, looking to the door and leveling her rifle at her shoulder. "Alright, we're fighting our way out. Stay close, don't stop, and don't die!"

The team ran through the doorway, staying close on Liz's trail. Ruby immediately brought her scope to her eye, firing at a pair of legionnaires rushing Liz. The rounds tore through the men's skulls, killing them instantly. Weiss lunged at the nearest soldier, her flaming blade slashing across his chest. She winced as the superheated blade didn't just cut, but melted through the man's armor and between his ribs. She ripped her blade out, slashing cleanly across his neck and silencing his screams of agony.

Blake and Yang charged at a group of three legionnaires coming down the hill from Caesar's tent. Blake caught the first in the chest with her kukuri, getting three rapid stabs in before throwing him to the ground. Yang rushed the second man, catching him across the face with a punch and sending buckshot tearing through his cheek. She followed through with her shotgun, raising the sawed off weapon with one hand and jamming the business end under his chin as she pulled the trigger. Yang spun around, catching the third man in the back with a punch and throwing him into Blake, who caught the man with her knife face-first before shouldering past the corpse and dropping it.

The group slowly advanced up around the back side of Caesar's hill, only for a dozen warriors to block off the area between them and the gateway out. The men were in phalanx formation, long scrap metal spears pointing out between tiny gaps in a wall of shields. The group backed up, gunfire not doing anything against the wall of metal. Ruby ejected her magazine, replacing it with a drum of armor-piercing rounds. "Weiss! Grenade!"

Weiss hesitated for a moment, confused, before realizing what Ruby meant. She reached into her jacket pocket, drawing the small frag grenade with a white cross. She pulled the pin, waited a moment, and tossed it overhand into the advancing legion wall. "COVER!" Ruby yelled, grabbing Weiss by the collar and dragging her behind a legion tent. There was relative silence for a moment, followed by the sound and shockwave of a massive explosion. Ruby looked over her cover, only finding a smoking crater and the drifting remains of a mushroom cloud where the phalanx had stood.

The group ran around the crater, making it to the flattened section of the fortified hilltop. Ruby called out to her team, pointing towards the gate. "Let's get out of here!"

Liz shook her head, pointing towards Caesar's tent. "We can end it here and now! We can kill Caesar!" With that, the courier ran for the hill, not looking back.

Ruby acted on instinct, running after the Courier and spraying .308 rounds at anything that moved. "Liz wait!"

Liz reached the mouth of the tent. "No Ruby, this is it. With House, Benny, and Caesar gone, we just need to fight past the NCR and Vegas will be free! Now if you're with me, just AGH!"

Liz was cut off as a massive hand shot out from inside the tent, grabbing her by the back of the neck. Liz flailed as she was raised off the ground, dropping her rifle in the process. The hand raised her farther up, before slamming her head-first into the ground. The courier crumpled under her own weight, falling limply to the ground…

...as Legate Lanius stepped out of the shadows, armor scuffed and dented but otherwise unharmed.

"Surrender now, or your friend will be executed." The legate ordered, placing a power-armored foot on Liz's back and pressing in.

Ruby looked at her team, nodding softly as she dropped her rifle to the ground.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Ruby tested the strength of the ropes that had bound her wrists, realizing there was no way she was ripping through the two-inch-thick material. Liz and Team RWBY found themselves once more on there knees before Caesar; this time with two armed guards and the Legate keeping weapons trained behind their heads.

Caesar leaned forward in his throne, glaring at those before him, his fingertips together in a scheming way. "So, not only have you broken your promise to me, Courier, but you have also brought the attempted assassins of my highest commander into my own camp."

Liz chuckled, still spitting out blood from being body-slammed. "Well it's not my fault your little god of war had to crawl back with his tail between his legs after getting his ass handed to him by a bunch of teenage girls!"

The Legate slammed the pommel of his sword into Liz's face. She groaned in pain, her left eye beginning to swell up from the impact. "You dare to speak out of turn to our great Caesar!"

Caesar put a hand on the Legate's shoulder, patting the cold metal calmly. "Lanius calm down, we will be compensated for these events… Go get your four best commanders, and you get first pick."

Ruby looked up at Caesar, fear in her eyes. "First pick of what?"

Caesar looked down at Ruby, kneeling face-to-face with her. "Ah, you're the one that shot your way through Nipton, aren't you? Oh, Lanius is going to want you personally." He stood up with a slight struggle, using Lanius' unmovable frame to pull himself up as he began addressing the entire group. "I like to reward my commanders for serving honorably and without question. Money, weapons, women… they've made big steps in the Mojave, and deserve a bit of fresh relief time." The team sat there, silent out of fear. Caesar nodded, turning to face the side tent he had first appeared from and beginning to walk away.

"What about Joshua? What about the man that literally _formed_ the Legion with you?! Was throwing him off a cliff, engulfed in flames his _reward_?!"

The entire team looked at Blake, shocked at her sudden outburst. Yang leaned in, whispering next to Blake. "Babe, shut the fuck up. Don't do this, come on just stop talking now and he might-"

Caesar stopped next to Blake, leaning in and glaring at her. "You _dare_ mention that traitor's name in my presence?" He tilted his head, puzzled, before grabbing Blake's bow and ripping it off her head. The man sneered in disgust. "Well I guess we won't need to worry; a commander wouldn't want to try and breed some mutated freak." He nodded at the Legate. "Kill her."

The legate moved to grab Blake, but was interrupted as two more people were forced to their knees next to the group. Ruby looked over, surprised to find Veronica and Cass; beater, bruised, and bound at the wrists. The soldier that had dropped them stopped behind the group of prisoners, kneeling. He spoke, his voice muffled by the scarf covering his face. "Ave Caesar! We caught these two on the edge of camp, snooping about."

Caesar nodded. "Well, they're just in time for an execution. Lanius, continue."

Yang screamed, the legionnaire that had dropped off Veronica and Cass held her back as Blake was dragged by Lanius up to the throne. Her neck was forced onto a chopping block, her head resting over the flames of a fire pit. Yang thrashed more as she locked eyes with Blake, a single tear making it's way from the blonde's eye. Blake nodded, lips making the shapes of words that Yang knew all too well. The Legate raised his blade with both hands, the jagged sword reaching overhead…

...as the legionnaire behind Yang cut her bonds, screaming. "NOW!"

The next three seconds passed by Ruby in a blur slower than VATS. She heard Boone's voice yelling, followed by a shotgun blast and a power fist piston firing off. Yang flew past her, a ball of pure fiery fury shoving Blake out of the way as the Legate began his swing. Ruby watched as a sniper round dug through Caesar's shoulder, causing the old man to fall out of his throne to his knees. Ruby felt someone cut her wrists loose and drop something into her hand. Ruby raised her hand, feeling the familiar weight of her 10mm as she fired into the nearest two guards.

The chaos died down as fast as it had come. Boone stripped the heavy padding off of his shoulders, dropping it as he drew a combat knife from his belt. He reached Caesar, grabbing the man by the shoulder and looking him in the eyes. "Thumbs down you son of a bitch!" He stabbed the blade into the man's gut, ripping it out and stabbing it once more time and time again as the tyrant's blood began to soak the earth below them.

Ruby's attention was pulled away from the death of the tyrant by a scream of pain. She looked towards Yang and Blake, watching as the Legate shoved his blade through her sister's back. The sword entered near the center of the right shoulder blade, sticking straight out of her front where the arm met the body. "AVE CAESAR!" The man roared, slamming Yang into the ground as he violently jerked his blade to the side…

...Ripping her entire right arm from her body.

The closest thing Ruby could compare the sound to was that of a tree trunk being snapped in a storm; a slight warning groan before the sharp snap of the entire structure failing. The arm was thrown to the side, landing in the burning fire. The legate ripped his sword out of the ground, picking up Yang with one hand and hurling her into the flames before slashing the tent wall open and running.

Blake was the first to Yang's side, ignoring the scalding pain as she pulled her lover out of the burning coals. She wrapped her arms around Yang's shoulder and midsection, heaving the blonde onto her lap. "Come on babe, stay with me!"

Yang looked up at Blake, head lolling back and forth groggily. The blonde managed to smile. "Hey… we chased him off..." She said, coughing up blood. "High five..." Yang shifted her weight as if to lift her right arm, only to scream as shattered bone and torn muscle moved in ways she couldn't control. She winced again, smiling as she gazed into Blake's eyes as she drifted off. "Hey Blake… screw it, I'm bored… let's get marr-" Yang fell silent, passing out from blood loss.

"Babe? Yang? YANG!" Blake dug into her vest, pulling out a pair of stimpacks and jamming them into Yang's chest. The bleeding slowed slightly, but continued to flow profusely. Blake began to sob, ripping off her vest and undershirt, tying the fabric around Yang's wound and knotting it under her left arm.

Ruby sat down next to the pair, looking down at Yang. The girl's hair was soaked in her own blood, and partially burned away from the impact with the fire pit. Her entire right side was soaked in blood, with most of the shoulder blade and half of the collarbone shattered and ripped out. Burn marks covered her entire right flank, ranging from smaller marks to entire chunks of blackened flesh. Ruby could tell her left wrist had been fractured, along with her right leg. Ruby looked over at Boone, worry flashing in her eyes. "How are we getting out of here?"

Before Boone could respond, the sound of Vertibird rotors filled the air. Ruby looked up, happy to see a Boomers aircraft descending towards the ground above them. The Vertibird landed, it's door sliding open to reveal Ranger Ghost sitting at the ready. "Let's get moving, come on!"

Weiss, Liz and Cass picked up Yang, carrying her with Blake close by over to the aircraft. Ruby looked over at Boone, who had sat down next to the corpse of Caesar. "Come on, let's get moving!"

Boone stood up slowly, putting both his hunting rifle and his desert sniper on the ground. He dug into his pocket, pulling out his beret and placing it next to the desert rifle. He picked the two items up, tossing them to Ruby. "Hey kid… thanks. Thanks for the help, and for the adventure."

Ruby responded, ignoring the sounds of the Legion rallying in the distance. "Boone… what are you talking about? Get on the Vertibird!"

Boone looked over at Ruby, a genuine smile crossing his face. "Ruby… I'm tired." He stood up slowly, checking the bolt on his hunting rifle. He kicked the corpse of Caesar next to him. "I finished my job, there is an army of legionnaires out there who need their asses kicked..." He reached into his pocket, pulling out something that Ruby couldn't make out. "And I really want to go have lunch with my wife and son." With that, he opened his hand…

...dropping the now beeping radio beacon.

Ruby realized what was happening just as Veronica wrapped her arm around her midsection. Ruby flailed, screaming as she tried to break loose from the woman's strong grip, but she was too tired. She was pulled onto the Vertibird, watching as legionnaires began to swarm their emperor's hill. Boone looked up at Ruby, throwing up a crisp salute. Ruby nodded, calming down enough to return the gesture as the aircraft door closed with a hydraulic hiss.

Ruby felt the Vertibird shake in the air as the first artillery rounds began to hit the ground. She crawled over to where Yang was laying across three seats, still bleeding profusely while Blake and Ghost attempted to field dress the wound. Ruby thought for a moment, panic beginning to overtake her as she watched her sister slowly slipping away, before an idea crossed her mind. "Weiss, do you still have the thing?!"

Weiss tilted her head, confused. "What thing?"

Ruby, struggling to think of her words in her state of panic, began saying whatever she could think of. "Beacon thingiey! Toaster! Brains! Sink! Transport!"

Weiss took Ruby's confused ramblings for a moment, before realization dawned upon her. She reached into her suit jacket, pulling out the BigMT Transportalponder and tossing it to Ruby.

Ruby sat Yang up. Wrapping an arm around her sister's broken body. "Blake, follow Weiss tonight. Get to the movies. She'll explain the rest." Weiss nodded, putting a hand on Blake's shoulder as the cat Faunus began to sob once more. Ruby held Yang tight, pulling the trigger of the device in her hand for three seconds as the world around her and her sister flashed to white.

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 _Hey, sorry for deleting and re-uploading this one; I was told Reviews weren't coming through for anyone. Thanks for the patience!_

 _A.N.:_ _Well, there it is ladies, gents, and all between; the fort has been hit, and the legion has been hit hard. But at what cost? It's funny, I'm posting this chapter exactly two years after the first post… I didn't think I would make it this far. This is one of the chapters that I had in mind the entire time while writing, not knowing if I would ever reach and share it. I am so glad that there are so many of you readers to help inspire me to keep writing. Next couple chapters are going to be a bit slower… but also faster at the same time… non-combat arcs are weird to write. All I'm saying is that in the next couple weeks in-story will be Team RWBY only, with a little bit less combat than usual and more talking. As usual, all feedback and ideas are welcome to be shared in reviews/PMs. Thank you all again for reading_ _and reviewing, have a wonderful day, and remember; keep on fighting that good fight!_

 _DovahCourier_


	33. Chapter 33 - Damaged

_A.N._ _: Hello Readers, DovahCourier here!_ _Well… that last chapter hit kinda hard, did it not? The next couple of chapters are going to be much like the post-DLC chapters earlier; less combat and action, more character pieces and talking. Anyway, nothing really big to say here, so let's get going!_

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 _ **I don't own anything!**_ _ **The Fallout universe belongs to Bethesda/Black Isle/Obsidian,**_ _ **and**_ _ **RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth.**_ _ **A**_ _ **ll I own is the laptop I'm writing on, the original ideas I throw into this mix, and a few metric tons of crippling anxiety!**_

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The Tale of Dust and Sand

 _A RWBY/New Vegas Crossover_

Chapter Thirty-three: Damaged

Ruby landed sitting down on a familiar balcony, Yang still passed out on her lap. She stood up, lifting her sister as carefully as she could in both arms. She carried Yang with her to the door, which shifted open automatically.

As Ruby crossed the threshold into the Sink, the entire suite sparked to life. Lights came on, their bright neon colors assaulting her eyes and causing spikes of pain to dig through her skull. The central terminal flashed, and a voice sounded from it's speakers. _"Welcome home Sir. It has been exactly three months, twenty-"_

"Doctor, on." Ruby commanded, carrying Yang across the room. The Auto-Doc opened it's door, the medical table lowering from it's vertical position to a horizontal rest at hip level. Ruby put Yang down carefully, pulling straps over her midsection, forehead, legs, and remaining arm. She pressed a button on the control panel, raising the table and closing the glass tube around her sister.

Immediately, the Auto-Doc jumped into action, dozens of small arms with medical instruments coming out of the walls of the tube and attempting to stabilize Yang. _"Jesus Christ… what happened to this kid?"_ The medical AI asked, simulated concern in his voice.

Ruby pounded a fist against against the control panel. "SHUT THE FUCK UP AND FIX HER!"

 _"Alright, let me stabilize her first..."_ The bleeding slowly stopped as the doctor injected dozens of stimpacks and other medical syringes into Yang's body. An oxygen mask was lowered and secured to her face tightly. _"Alright, I can begin attempting repairs, but the extent of the damage is pretty extreme… complete removal of the right arm_ _through tearing_ _, broken right clavicle with missing section, right scapula shattered and missing a large amount of material,_ _five broken ribs… and that's just the bones._ _"_

Ruby looked away as the hands began swarming Yang's decimated right side, disinfecting and removing debris as well as beginning work on the burn wounds. _"Major tearing trauma to the right side, with the_ _trapezius torn at the deltoid connection. Burns ranging from_ _surface irritation to 3_ _rd_ _degree deep tissue damage..._ _and there's not enough healthy tissue_ _for a skin graph. We'll need to work on basic mechanical plating to hold her side together until the body can rebuild the dermis naturally._ _"_

Ruby nodded solemnly, wiping tears out of her eyes and replacing them with dirt and dust. "Anything else you can tell?"

 _"Her left ribs shattering in punctured her left lung and a few other organs. I will need to replace some of the more extremely damaged pieces with mechanical ones."_

 _"_ Doc?" Ruby choked out, beginning to sob as she fell to her knees against the glass tube. "Is my sister going to live?"

The doctor was silent for a few moments before responding. _"Whoever got her here helped save her life._ _She'll be out of it for a couple weeks, but she should live._ _"_

Ruby let out a sigh of relief, the Doctor's commands fading into the background as she collapsed against the medical tube, passing out almost immediately.

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Yang sat in a chair, looking down at her stuffed Ursa while her feet dangled above the floor. She could hear the adults in the room talking across the big desk.

"Miss Rose, we believe that that our course of discipline for your daughter is standard protocol for such an outburst!" An older man's voice said, sounding like his throat was made of tobacco and sandpaper.

Yang heard her mother's voice speak up, soothing and comforting yet defensive. "All she did was tell another student that she liked them!"

"Yes,your daughter expressed certain emotions towards a fellow _female_ student. This establishment was founded to help younger students begin the path towards Huntsman training. We operate under a generations-old code that this outburst blatantly-"

Yang heard her mother stand up from her chair. "Well if this school's teaching methods involve stopping my daughter from being herself, than I believe that there are other options around Vale that will be more suited to our needs." She reached a hand out towards Yang, who immediately grabbed it as she jumped down from the scary chair. "Good day sir." Her mother said as she picked Yang up, carrying her under her arm out of the room.

As soon as they were out of the room, Yang's mother put her down on the ground in front of her. Yang looked up at the woman, staring at her black and red hair and shiny silver eyes. Yang's mother looked down at her a concerned expression on her face. "What happened?"

Yang, not knowing what else to do as she was overwhelmed, began to cry. "I'm sorry! She was so pretty, with a clip in her hair and a bright pink dress and I just… I told her she.. I'm sorry!"

Summer's expression lightened up as she smiled, wiping the tears from Yang's face. "Calm down you little fireball! It's alright… I'm actually proud of you." She looked straight into her daughter's eyes. "Do you want to know something special? The secret to happiness?"

Yang thought for a moment, before nodding, still sniffing tears away.

Summer got down on one knee, looking Yang in the eye. "Let you heart fly free. Love whoever you want." She punctuated her point with a happy chuckle and a loving tap on Yang's nose. "You understand?"

Yang nodded, smiling and putting her arms up, making a grabbing motion.

Summer picked up Yang, placing the young girl on her shoulders. A voice called from down the hall, this one just as soft and friendly as Summer's. "Come on Summer! Ruby and I got ice cream!"

Summer looked up towards Yang on her shoulders, speaking softly. "Love is love my little one, love is love." She spoke up, yelling in response down the hallway. "Coming beautiful!"

Yang watched as an outline formed at the end of the hallway; a tall woman clad in deep red, with black hair running all the way down her back, holding Ruby's hand as the toddler attempted to waddle down the hallway. Yang smiled, resting her head against Summer as she fell asleep.

Yang raised her fists, blocking as the Ursa slammed a paw down. She felt her Aura flare up, blocking most of the hit as she jumped forwards and punched right under the beast's jaw, sending shards of fire Dust through the beast's skull. She stood up straight, ejecting the empty shell from _Ember Celica_ before freezing as a gunshot sounded through the forest. She turned around, watching a second Ursa fall to the ground…

...and the entire world faded away as the most gorgeous girl she had ever seen walked through.

Yang had always found herself out of the norm; her non-combat school years had been filled with their assortment of crushes, a balanced mix of guys and girls, but the woman standing in front of her now drove any thoughts of men out of her mind forever. Clad head-to-toe in black and white, only interrupted by subtle hints of purple that contrasted starkly against her bright amber eyes. The girl put away her pistol, looking over at Yang and smirking smugly.

Yang panicked, lowering her sunglasses and leaning against a tree. "I could've taken him."

The girl nodded, walking up to Yang and extending a hand. "Blake Belladonna."

Yang met the handshake, hoping that this girl wouldn't be able to feel it as her pulse skyrocketed. "Yang Xiao-Long."

Yang felt the world shatter around her.

Yang pounded another glass of punch, still recovering from laughing at team JNPR's surprise routine. She looked up, smiling as she saw Blake sitting in a chair against the wall. She stood up, straightened out her dress, and walked over to her teammate. "Hey! Glad you could make it… here alone?"

Blake nodded. "I was here with Sun but… well..." She looked off towards the dance floor.

Yang followed Blake's gaze. Near the middle of the dance floor, Sun stood with a swarm of girls around him, enjoying every moment of it. Yang shook her head. "Boys… not worth the effort." She extended a hand to Blake. "May I have this dance?"

Blake seemed shocked at first. She looked up at Yang, as if judging if it was a joke or not, before blushing, nodding, and accepting Yang's hand. "Yes you may."

Yang smiled, thinking of her mother's advice as she took Blake's hand and pulled her off towards the dance floor. _'Let my heart fly free, love who I want.'_

Yang and Blake danced, spinning in time to the music. Yang felt as Blake wrapped an arm around her back, going in to dip with the blonde. Yang went with the motion, closing her eyes and lolling her head backwards as she was lowered towards the dance floor. She opened her eyes, raising once more, and the entire scene had shifted.

Blake was still holding onto her, but both were now on the ground. Blake's face was covered in dirt, blood, and tears. Yang smiled, gazing up at her lover. Her arm felt asleep, like when Blake slept on top of it and it lost feeling overnight. She commanded her body to raise her right hand towards Blake's face, screaming when it only resulted in the feeling of hellfire spreading through her entire body. She smiled at Blake once more, before closing her eyes and escaping into the void of sleep.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Yang opened her eyes, the dream fading away slowly. She looked around, not recognizing the room she was in; polished metal walls, a clean and sterile bed, and countless pieces of medical equipment hooked up to her. She attempted to lift her head, only making it up an inch before a sharp pulling pain forced her to lower it once more. She felt a hand against her cheek. She opened her eyes, seeing a head of red and black hair . "Mom?" Her throat felt like a quarry.

"No sis, it's Ruby." Ruby said, tears beginning to swell.

Yang nodded, smiling. "Ruby… get in here!" She reached for Ruby, ready to drag her sister into a hug..

Nothing happened.

Yang tried to reach up with her right arm and hug Ruby again, only for a sharp pain to shoot through her body. "Ruby… I can't feel my arm..."

Ruby looked down at Yang, a worried expression on her face. "Yang… do you remember what happened at the fort? After Boone cut you loose?"

Yang dug through the blurry memories. "I jumped at the Legate… Pushed Blake out of the way… he nicked me, but it wasn't that bad..."

Ruby shook her head, beginning to cry. "Yang… We did what we could, but he… your arm..."

Yang could feel herself sobering up from the deep sleep. "Ruby… show me my arm."

Ruby walked around the bed to Yang's right side. "Sis… the doc did what it could. I'm sorry." She pulled away the blanket.

Yang was shocked when she saw her right side. Her arm was… gone. Her entire upper flank was wrapped in bandages, holding tightly onto medical padding where her shoulder once was. The bandages went all the way down to above her hip, covering what she was beginning to feel was raw, damaged flesh. She looked up at Ruby, doing her best to stay strong for her little sister. "It's ok; it's just a little scrape." She said before proceeding to break down sobbing.

Ruby, crying as well, fell to her knees, grabbing Yang and hugging as carefully as she could. "Sis I'm so sorry…"

"Did I save her?" Yang asked.

Ruby backed out of the hug, nodding. "Blake is fine. She and Weiss should be on the way."

Yang smiled. "Alright, outside of the obvious, how bad is it?"

Ruby picked up a clipboard on the end of Yang's bed, handing it to her. Yang looked up and down, skimming the list of damages. "So… I am going to get a big metal plate across my shoulder?"

"And in your ribs… and a mechanical lung..." Ruby said, confirming the details.

Yang dropped the clipboard, not caring about it hitting the ground. "Anything else I need to know?"

Ruby picked up a mirror. "Sis… I'm so sorry. It was all soaked in blood and burned; the doctor had to remove most of it to avoid infection..."

Yang tried to reach out with her hand, the phantom of a command stopping as she shifted and reached her left arm out. "Give me the mirror." Ruby handed Yang the mirror, backing up. Yang fumbled with the piece of plastic and glass. She spun it around to show her face, before screaming and dropping the mirror.

Yang's hair was gone. It was now cut off above the shoulder, done jaggedly by a mechanical arm. Her left arm shot up, confirming that it hadn't been an illusion as she ran her fingers through the remaining golden locks, ending just below the chin. She took a moment to breathe, lowering her arm to her side. Ruby hovered close to Yang's side, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Need anything, sis?"

Yang rolled over away from Ruby, pulling her covers up over head. "Just leave me alone to think."

Ruby nodded, walking out of the room and closing the door, tears in her eyes.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Every hair on Blake's body stood up on end. She felt as though the gravity had been turned off, only to be turned back on violently an instant later. She landed on her feet, feeling as though she were on a ship in a storm as she regained her balance. She looked around, finding herself on what appeared to be a rooftop standing next to Weiss. She looked over at the heiress, shaking her head to get the hair out of her face. "We are _never_ doing that again."

Weiss turned to respond, only to be cut off as a hatch on the floor between her and Blake opened up, Ruby's head popping out. "Guys! Get in here!"

Blake followed as Weiss led the way down the ladder and into the Sink living room. Blake looked at Ruby, noticing that she had seen better days. Her hair was frayed, her eyes had massive bags under them, and she was slumped over with exhaustion. "What took you two so long?"

Weiss rushed up to Ruby, hugging her. "Sorry, we had to take the long way around. Too many NCR and Legion patrols."

Ruby nodded. "Alright. Well, the good news is that she has stabilized. The doctor has begun work on preparing a mechanical cover for the shoulder while the body heals itself. She is awake, if anyone wants to try and talk to her..."

Weiss looked over at Blake. "You want to go first?"

Blake shook her head. "I… I..."

Ruby waived to Weiss. "You go see her, I'll talk to Blake."

Weiss nodded, turning around and heading towards the bedroom. Ruby gestured towards the couch, wrapping an arm around Blake's shoulder and leading her towards it. "Alright Blake, what's the problem?"

Blake and Ruby sat down on the couch. "I'm… I'm afraid to talk to Yang."

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Why? What's wrong?"

"If I hadn't brought up Joshua, Lanius wouldn't have attempted to execute me. It's _my_ fault… because of me she… her arm is gone..." Blake began to choke up, stumbling across her words.

Ruby snapped. She put a hand on Blake's shoulder, squeezing hard and looking her in the eye. "Blake… Blake calm down… BLAKE!"

Blake jolted, stopping her panicked muttering.

Ruby spoke up, her normally calm tone replaced with the harsh one of a team leader. "I know you're stressed. I know you feel guilty. But this isn't about you. This is about my _sister_ , sitting in the other room, recovering from getting her _fucking_ arm ripped off. Do you know what one of the first things she asked was? _'Did I save her?'_ She jumped in front of that monster not caring if she was going to live, all because of _you_. For months on end back at Beacon, she would talk to me about how much she _love_ _s_ you! She's obviously going through a rough time, so stop moping and go try and help. Please?"

Blake stayed there for a moment, shocked and silent, before nodding and standing up. She turned to face the hallway Weiss had gone down, walking towards the single door at the end. As she reached the door, Weiss came through, a look of anger on her face. Blake attempted to make eye contact with her as she passed, only to be shouldered out of the way angrily. Blake breathed in, steeling herself as she crossed the threshold into the room.

"WEISS I SAID FUCK OFF!"

Blake could see Yang, laying in bed, facing away from her. The girl was surrounded by scanners and medical equipment, with a sheet pulled up covering most of her body. She could see the layers of bandages through the sheets; sterile white cotton, wrapped and secured to an armless right side. "Yang?"

Yang looked over her shoulder as quickly as she could. She locked eyes with Blake, the two freezing for a moment. Yang flipped back over, looking towards the far wall. "So… you made it."

"Yeah." Blake said, stepping slowly towards the bed. "So… how are you holding up?"

Yang scoffed. "Was that supposed to be a joke?"

Blake stepped forward a bit more. "No babe. I'm just making sure you're ok."

"Well, where do I start? The fact that half of my ribs are going to be replaced with chunks of metal? The lung that I ripped to shreds and got replaced with a mechanical one? The fact that my FUCKING ARM IS GONE?!" Yang snapped back, shooting into a sitting position. Blake was surprised to see that her hair had been cut, jaggedly and unprofessionally, stopping above the shoulders. "I'm _broken_ , Blake. BROKEN!" She laid back down.

Blake stood there for a moment, silent. "Yang… I'm sorry. This is my fault. If I had just kept my mouth shut…"

"You probably would've gotten killed anyway! You saw how that old bastard reacted to your ears..." Yang thought for a moment, her breath slowing down. "I don't regret it. You know that, right?"

Blake tilted her head slightly, confused. "Regret what?"

"That first dance. I was scared you'd say no. I was scared that you'd realize that I saw you as more than a friend and blow me off. But I went for it. And I don't regret it."

Blake reached the side of the bed. She crawled onto the mattress, snuggling up against Yang. She sat there, silent for a moment, listening to Yang's breathing hitch with sobs.

"Do you remember our song?"

Yang raised an eyebrow. The question had come out of nowhere. "What song?"

Blake smiled. "You know, the song that started playing as soon as we stood up to dance… I forgot the name, but it had just come out..."

Yang shrugged. "I'm going to be honest… I have no idea what you're talking about."

Blake leaned her head against Yang's, whispering into the blonde's ear. _"There's a garden… where I go..."_

She couldn't hear anything, but Blake felt as Yang chuckled silently before responding. _"If you meet me there, no one will know..."_

Blake smiled. _"In the springtime, in the sun..."_

Yang and Blake both chimed in together. " _We can be alone without anyone..."_

The pair laid there, laughing as the words came to mind. After finishing the song, Blake scooted back a bit, allowing for Yang to carefully flip to face her. "Babe… I'm sorry."

Blake shook her head. "Trust me, you have _nothing_ to say sorry about! I know it'll be hard, but… we'll stick through this together. Remember… I promised to be yours, no matter what."

Yang nodded. "And I am yours." She rolled onto her back, looking up to the ceiling. "What the hell am I going to do?"

Blake thought for a moment. "Well… you're strong. You're the strongest person I know. You're strong enough to work around this."

Yang shifted to the side, kissing Blake on the cheek before resting her head on the woman's chest. "Thanks Babe." She said, smiling as she drifted off to sleep.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Ruby was pacing rapidly, panicked thoughts going through her head. _'What am I going to do? She's my sister, I need to try and help her… but HOW can I help her?_ _The doc said physical t_ _herapy is going to take a while, and I don't know how to even start with her mental health...'_

 _"_ Ruby..."

Ruby increased her pacing speed. _'_ _I'm going to need to make sure the metal cap is fitted properly…_ _that's going to require both myself and Blake to attach..._ _'_

"Ruby..."

 _'_ _Her lung_ _and ribs have already been replaced, but what do I do about her arm?! I can't just leave her with nothing but a hunk of metal..._ _'_

"RUBY!"

Ruby stopped pacing, turning to face Weiss before erupting into panicked tears. "WHAT DO I DO?!" The crimson huntress dropped to her knees, head in her hands.

Weiss walked over to Ruby, rubbing a hand on her shoulder and sitting down next to her. "Ruby… calm down, please? You've done what you can. You _saved_ your sister's life!"

Ruby sat down, rolling off of her knees leaning against the Sink's central control terminal. "I know, but… I can't help but feel that I should be able to do _more_!"

"Well, at this point, your best bet is to help her with emotional support. Recovery will take a while, but she will get better in the end." Weiss chuckled to herself for a moment. "It's not like you can just sit down with a pile of tools and metal and fix her like some machine. She's going to need to get used to life without-"

"THAT'S IT!" Ruby cut off Weiss, shooting to her feet and turning around. She immediately activated the central AI table, typing in commands as fast as she could. "Central, I'm going to need every note the Think Tank has on robotics, neurosurgery, and carbonated drinks."

Within seconds, the holographic table began shooting out dozens of display pages. Weiss watched as pages upon pages of information came into view, ranging from the schematics of massive sentry bots, to diagrams of the human brain and spine, to research papers on the perfect Nuka-to-rum ratio in a cocktail. "Ruby… what are you doing?"

"Exactly what you told me not to." Ruby said, beginning to scroll through page upon page of data. She picked up a roll of blank blueprint paper and a white pen from under her weapon workbench in the corner of the room, unrolling a section of paper and beginning to draw. Weiss peeked over Ruby's shoulder, shocked and surprised to see what the girl had begun sketching out.

"Well… If you're going to blatantly ignore me, I might as well try and help." Weiss said, watching as Ruby's rapid sketch became a legible blueprint. "Where do we start?"

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

Yang stepped into the restroom, following Ruby's lead. The center of the room was taken up by a massive tub, surrounded by medical equipment and luxury pre-war toiletries. Blake sat on one of the steps leading to the tub, watching as Yang made her way across the room. Ruby stopped Yang just before the tub, walking in front of her next to Blake. "Alright… it's time to get the metal cap in place. First things first, we need to remove the bandages."

Yang nodded, reaching for the bottom edge of her tank top. "Um, Ruby? Could you maybe just turn around for a moment?"

Ruby nodded, averting her eyes. Yang pulled at the article of clothing, attempting to pull it over her head, only to get slightly tangled. "Hey babe… can I get a hand over here?"

Blake chuckled, walking over to Yang's side. "So, all it takes to get you undressed is to rip of a limb?" She stood behind Yang, guiding her arm up as she pulled the shirt off of her. "I will keep that in mind for the future."

"Ha ha, very funny." Yang responded, deadpan. "Alright sis, how do I get these things off?"

Ruby turned around, doing her best to avoid eye contact with anything but the bandaged section of Yang's side as she made her way behind the girl. "I'm going to unhook the clip and begin unwinding the wrap." With that, Ruby began unwrapping the bloodstained cotton.

As Ruby began reaching the end of the process, she looked up at Blake. "Blake, could you hold her hand? The doc told me this last part is going to sting a little bit."

Yang gripped Blake's hand. "Hey, it probably won't be _that_ pain-SON OF A FUCKING BEOWOLF!"

The final section of bandage came off, pulling at a few hairs and exposing the wound to the cold, sterile air. Ruby looked at the damage, grimacing. The bone that remained had been capped off with metal, and the torn muscles and blood vessels had been quickly stitched or cauterized. Much of the flesh around the traumatized area was still burned from landing in the flames, ranging from minor irritation to muscle-deep blackened and cracked areas.

"Alright sis, time to disinfect and prepare for the cap." Ruby said. Placing a hand on Yang's good shoulder and guiding her towards the tub.

Yang stepped up to the edge of the tub, watching as steam curled off of its surface. She lifted a leg, poking a toe into the water before recoiling it. "Ruby… it seems a little too warm..."

"It has to be that hot to clean the wound." Ruby responded. "I'm sorry sis, it's the doc's orders."

Yang stuck a leg into the water, before pulling it out again with a yelp of pain. Blake looked Yang in the eyes. "Babe… it's going to hurt a bit, but this is the only way we'll be able to start fixing you. Do you want me to help?"

"How would you help more th-oh. ok." Ruby looked away blushing as Blake tossed her own shirt across the room, followed by her pants and bow.

Now in her undergarments, Blake lowered herself into the hot water, reaching an arm out towards Yang. "Come on ya big baby, the water's fine."

Yang stepped into the tub, lowering slowly as she held Blake's hand for balance. The heat stung at first, slowly becoming bearable as she adjusted to it, lowering into a sitting position in front of Blake.

And then the water hit her wound.

Blake secured an arm around Yang's midsection as the blonde screamed at the top of her lungs. She leaned back, holding Yang in place as the water began to wash the dried blood off of the damaged tissue. "Shh… it's ok… I'm here..."

Yang bit down on her lip, trying to drown out the pain and focus on the feeling of Blake against her back. The agony slowly faded away to pain, which slowly faded to mild discomfort. A few minutes passed, and Yang felt the wounded flesh beginning to loosen and clean with the heat of the water. Ruby walked up to the edge of the tub, holding something wrapped in a towel. "Alright sis, do you want to see what we're attaching before or after it happens?"

"Is seeing it going to make me hate it more?" Yang asked.

Ruby nodded. "Yeah… you're going to hate the doctor for this, but it's going to help fix you and balance you back out."

Yang shrugged. "Might as well see the damn thing."

Ruby removed the towel. The piece of metal was about the size of an open hand, with sections that seemed to be meant to wrap around from the shoulder blade to the front of the removed arm socket. It was measured perfectly to fit Yang's devastated section, as well as cover some of the most burned areas. Yang didn't notice any of those details, as she was focused on the edges of the piece, which were lined with dozens of quarter-inch-long needles.

Ruby looked down at Yang, a look of sorrow on her face. "Sis… I'm sorry. The doc says this is the only way to cover the damages without risking further damage..."

"Just get it over with." Yang said, toughening up.

Ruby reached into a doctor's bag hanging near the tub, drawing out a syringe. "The doctor suggested Med-X to help kill the pain..."

Yang shook her head. "No time for that to kick in. Just get it done with."

Ruby nodded, putting the medicine down and preparing the metal wound cap. Yang looked over her left shoulder at Blake. "Hey babe… Thanks."

Blake nodded. "No problem. Hey, I wanted to ask… why did you jump in front of the Legate? Why am I more important to you than living?"

Yang chuckled. "It's simple babe; I love yo-" Yang yelled in pain as Ruby jammed the hunk of metal into her shoulder. She kept her eyes locked with Blake's as the cap's needles dug into her skin, locking the piece in place. A stimpack was injected into her neck, less than an inch away from the piece of metal. Yang felt as he skin began to knit itself back together, integrating the metal cap as a piece of her body.

Ruby backed off, wiping her hands on a towel. "Well… that could've been worse."

Yang stood up with Blake's help, the pair getting out of the tub. Yang looked down at the cap, running a hand along the piece of smooth metal. It felt unnatural, but the new weight pulling her to the right did help balance her back out. She grabbed a towel, quickly drying off and throwing it around her neck before grabbing Ruby and hugging her tightly. "Thanks for the help, sis."

Ruby patted Yang's back, smiling. "No problem." Ruby managed to get free of the hug, almost walking into a wall as she avoided staring at her sister. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go bleach my eyes." With that, the girl slipped out of the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Blake placed a hand near Yang's new shoulder, rubbing softly. "Do you like it?"

Yang shrugged. "What options do I have? It's certainly better than an open wound, but it feels..."

"Unnatural? Obtuse? Heavy?"

"I was going to say it itches like hell, but those work too." Yang responded, scratching at the edges of the cap.

Blake chuckled, leading Yang towards the far side of the room. There was a large vanity, with a cozy seat and a wall-to-wall mirror that had remained unused for decades. Blake gestured towards the chair, where Yang sat down hesitantly. "Blake, what are you doing?"

Blake smirked, making eye contact with Yang in the mirror. "Well, whatever medical robot cut your hair obviously knows nothing about how hair works, so..." She opened a drawer, pulling out a pair of scissors. "I thought I'd even it out a bit, with your input."

Yang waited for a moment, before nodding. "Let's get to work."

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

 _ *****_ _ **Three weeks of pain, therapy, and bad puns later**_ _ *****_

Yang stepped out onto the roof, following Blake closely. "Babe, why are we coming up here? The doc said my PT should start in a couple of…" Yang trailed off as she saw what was waiting on the roof. Ruby and Weiss sat on a spread blanket, a pile of food between them, waiting for the others to join in.

Yang followed Blake, sitting down with a small amount of assistance from her girlfriend. She looked at the pile of food before her; a few microwaved freezer steaks, a six-case of Nuka-Cherry, A few baked potatoes, and a bottle of red wine. Ruby smiled, picking up a bottle of soda and tossing it to Yang. "You won't believe the stuff they have in the freezers downstairs from before the war."

Yang pinned the bottle cap between her teeth, prying it off and pocketing it before taking a swig of the cold soda. She chugged half of the bottle in one go, lowering it and smiling."Oh my god I needed that. So, what's the occasion?"

Weiss shrugged. "Well, we did want to get out as a team on the last day of our break… turns out we're just doing it a few months later than planned."

Blake wrapped an arm around Yang, smiling as she pulled her in for a hug. "A night with just the four of us, sitting around, talking and eating. Think you can pull out of your PT schedule for a few hours?"

Yang nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I could use a night out with the girls."

The team split up the food, tearing into it with fervor.

After eating, The team sat at the edge of the roof, legs dangling over the edge as they watched the sun begin to set. "It feels weird, having a calm day like this." Yang said, looking out at the surrounding crater.

"Yeah… no Legion, no Rangers, no NCR..." Ruby responded, taking a final sip of her soda before throwing the bottle over the edge. "Just the sky above, a nice meal, and my favorite three people in the world."

Blake took another swig of wine, passing the bottle to Yang. "So, anything you all miss from home?"

The team fell into silence for a few moments.

"Beacon." Said Weiss.

The team mumbled in agreement. "How do you think the second semester is going right now?" Ruby asked.

"Well, the tournament has probably started by now..." Yang said.

"I hope JNPR wins for Beacon!" Ruby exclaimed excitedly, before slight sorrow hit her in the gut. "JNPR… how do you think they're doing?"

"Well, Nora has lost her cookie dealer, so Ren probably has to cook pancakes full-time." Weiss said, smirking.

"You have _no proof_ that I was the one baking!" Ruby said defensively, before breaking into laughter with the rest of the team.

"I miss home. Menagerie." Blake said, slight bit of sorrow coming out in her voice.

"You've… never mentioned it." Yang said, wrapping her arm around Blake's shoulder. "What was it like?"

"It was… beautiful. Faunus of all types, living together without the fear of humans." Blake smiled. "Markets full of fruit, meat, fish… fish..." Blake's mouth began to water.

"Don't worry babe. If I find a fish, anywhere in the wasteland, I'll cook it up just for you." Yang said, squeezing Blake's arm.

"And that is why I love you." Blake said.

"And if I go through all that effort, I expect to be wined, dined, and sixty-"

Blake straightened up, pulling out of Yang's grip and speaking in the most deadpan tone of voice she could. "If you finish that sentence you aren't getting any of those options for a week."

Yang immediately shut her mouth, only opening it again to join in as the team began to laugh.

Ruby looked towards the sunset, somber memories returning. "I… I miss dad."

Yang looked past Blake and Weiss, looking at her little sister. She made her way back off the edge, walking over and sitting between Ruby and Weiss before wrapping her arm around her sister. "It's ok Ruby, I miss him too..."

"Do you think he misses us?"

Yang nodded, holding back tears. "We were his world! After my mother left and our mom… passed… we were all he had. He's probably ok by now, especially thinking we died with honor doing our duty. That's all he could ask for."

Ruby stood up, stretching and yawning. "Whelp, I think it's about time that we got to bed, _right Weiss_?"

Weiss looked up at Ruby, a confused look on her face, before nodding and smiling. "Yeah, I guess you're right..." She stood up, letting out a loud yawn as well. "How about you two enjoy the sunset for a bit while we leave you alone?"

Yang ignored the slightly awkward tone in Weiss' voice, attributing it to the wine as she leaned into Blake's waiting arms. "Have fun you two, just don't knock the tower over."

Yang listened as Weiss and Ruby walked across the roof, closing the hatch behind them. She looked up at Blake, smiling. "Hey babe… thanks for the help."

Blake smiled back, kissing Yang on the cheek. "What can I say? It's my job."

"Well, you're doing a great damn job at it." Yang said, uncontrollably grinning and blushing. "I… I'm going to be honest. Before I met you, I was going through a rough time. I met a couple of guys and girls before Beacon, but everyone ended up leaving after a couple of dates. I started thinking it was hopeless..."

"Well, you are loud, obnoxious, over-the-top, attention-loving..." Blake smirked.

Yang elbowed Blake in the gut. "But then I met you. The funny, beautiful, smart girl that found me in a forest and stuck by my side ever since."

"And I must say that I have learned to love every moment of it." Blake said.

"Do you remember anything before Beacon?" Yang asked, straightening up and looking at Blake.

Blake looked over the edge of the building, her cat ears sagging slightly. "My years in the Fang were… rough, to say the least. I had Adam, but he got too ruthless, to chaotic, to… hungry. Hungry for power, hungry for blood… They started out as peaceful protests, going up to full-scale terror attacks over time. I left because I couldn't bear to see myself turn into a monster."

Yang put her hand on Blake's arm. "Babe… I'm sorry. You don't have to talk about it if you want to."

Blake shook her head. "No, it's fine. I packed my stuff, disappeared for a few months, and made it to Beacon. Got thrown off a cliff, landed safely..." Blake shifted her hand over, locking fingers with Yang. "...and met my true match for life. Yang… it's going to be hard adjusting to the arm situation, but I am here for you. It is my fault that you lost it, so I will do everything I can to help you recover."

Yang smiled. "Thank you. Don't worry, I'll be fine! The hard part is mostly over according to the doc… who knows, maybe I'm a lefty and just never got the chance to find out!"

"Well maybe you won't need to find that out quite yet." Blake said, starting to smile as she looked into Yang's lilac eyes.

Yang tilted her head slightly, confused. "Um, babe? I'm not quite sure I'm following..."

"Hey sis… we got you something."

Yang looked over her shoulder, towards the center of the roof. Ruby and Weiss had come back up from downstairs, and Ruby had a large leather-wrapped package in her arms. Blake stood up to walk over, guiding Yang to follow. Ruby and Weiss sat down, followed by Blake and Yang. "Ruby… what is this?"

Ruby smiled, looking over at Weiss and making eye contact before looking back to Yang. "Well, while you were recovering, the two of us..." she gestured to Weiss. "Spent our free time digging through the Sink's data libraries. They have everything here; the Nuka Cola recipie, nuke schematics, ammunition info..."

Weiss chimed in. "Advanced robotics data, neural-to-mechanical experiment results, medical guides to treat war wounds..."

Ruby handed Yang the package. "And we spent every second we could putting this together. A little get well gift, on behalf of the rest of team RWBY."

Yang looked down at the package; beautiful leather wrapped around a nearly three-foot-long tube, weighing a good twenty pounds. She placed the piece on the ground, pulled the securing knot open, and slowly lifted the leather away from the package…

...before bursting into tears as she realized what the object was.

The first thing she noticed was the color; golden-yellow, polished to a perfect shine on the metal surface, with smaller pieces and highlights made pitch black or chrome. The plates were smooth, yet obviously mechanical, avoiding a pseudo-biological appearance and embracing the technological edge. The joints looked realistic enough, if not meant to out-preform the potential of those that were being recreated.

Yang lifted the robotic arm, looking at it from every angle. The forearm appeared to have internal mechanisms that she couldn't make out from the outside, made of dozens of interlocking metal plates that she assumed had the potential to move about, while the upper arm was only three smooth plates of metal. The shoulder piece seemed to be an extended version of the piece already mounted to her; a plate reaching around the shoulder blade and reaching all the way to the bottom of her wounded section, with metal sections jutting inwards that she realized would connect to the fractured remains of her collarbone and blade. The hand and front half of the forearm had what appeared to be veins of silver-blue metal, running from the wrist all the way down the front of her fingers.

Yang put the arm down carefully to the side, tears still streaming down her face as she grabbed Ruby and pulled her into a vise-like hug. The golden huntress smiled as her team huddled together in a group hug. She looked down at Ruby, memories of childhood and home flooding her mind.' _Mom…_ _thank you. I don't know what I'd do without her._ _'_

The team laid down on the roof together; laughing, telling stories, passing around a bottle of Nuka, and watching the stars as they drifted off to sleep in under a pile of blankets in the cool night air.

 _ **LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK**_

 _A._ _N._ _: Well, I'm popping these things out fast, aren't I?!_ _I would've had this out a couple of days ago, but_ _Thursday through Saturday was spent watching my school's robot go wrong in essentially every way it could outside of catching fire. Sorry if the chapter was a bit out of my normal style… I'm not used to having conversations that don't get interrupted by some form of combat halfway through. Next chapter will be another recovery/BigMT chapter, but will have a bit more action_ _at least. Sorry if I slow down again; coming up on finals, graduation, and college prep._ _Again, any and all input is welcome through review and PM, so don't worry, I actually like responding to comments and such. That's all for now folks, I hope you all have an amazing day, and just remember; keep on fighting the good fight!_

 _DovahCourier_


End file.
